Bounty Maelstrom
by Ciel the Hedgehog
Summary: In a world that mirrors Sonic's, everything has been slipping into hell. Is there hope? Well, if you count a lost echidna and a gang of bounty hunters, there just may be.
1. Prolouge

**Hey everyone, new story here! It's one I started posting on DeviantArt awhile ago, and I decided I'd start posting it here too. Now, there are a few things to know before you read:**

**1. This is ****not**** in the Sonic the Hedgehog world. It's more like an alternate universe that shares some similarities. These similarities include the style of animals, Chaos Emeralds (though and alternate version), Chaos Abilities, etc. That's why it's placed here: Because it had too many similarities to be an actual fiction.**

**2. Yes, this is an OC only story. I may make a sequel later that crosses over with Sonic's universe, but I'm unsure. Please ****do not**** ask to have your fancharacters in here. I have no use for them, since I'm making this up myself.**

**3. I do have some more info on the characters on DeviantArt (as well as pics), so feel free to stop by for a look. Just remove the spaces: www. ciel-hedgehog. deviantart. com.**

**4. For various reasons, there will not be a lot of beginning/end notes, unlike most of the stories I've posted here before.**

**There, I think that's all of it. Make sure to ask if you have any more questions. So, here's the prologue (straight off of DeviantArt), and I'll be posting Chapter 1 shortly. Enjoy! (P.S: I guess you can say htis story commemerates my 1-year anniversary! w00t!)**

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In, out. In, out. Rozik's breath came rapidly as he stared at the bodies on the ground. Bodies he himself had put there. There was blood, of course, seeping from various wounds on his foes. He himself didn't have more than a few scratches, the exception being a bruise on his back where he had been hit by a rather hard punch. Some blood stained his snow-white quills, but none on his jacket or boots, which were too dark to notice anything on them.

"...Another ambush," he muttered, looking at his previous attackers. "I swear, they're worse than vermin." He spat on the ground, when something caught his attention. There was someone nearby. Someone who wasn't unconscious.

"Guess I'm not done yet," He thought. Eyes blacker than night looked around. In a nearby alleyway was an echidna. It was a male, with scraggly blue and gray fur, tattered pants with camo print, and a chain around his neck. The boy stared at him in awe, with a look that made it obvious he was no more than fourteen years of age, at best.

"Wow..." the echidna said. He had watched from afar as the hedgehog had fought his foes, a whirlwind of kicks and claws. The boy had never seen anything like it in his life. When he saw the hedgehog's eyes, he stepped out of the alleyway. He was too naive to even think the warrior would hurt him; Rozik looked nothing like the other people who hurt him.

"That was amazing!" The echidna said. The white hedgehog looked at him emotionlessly. Just another stupid bystander, he concluded.

"And who might you be?" He asked. The young boy ignored the question.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that? I've never seen a fight like that ever!" Rozik rolled his yes. He hated idiots like this, so he began to walk away. Footsteps followed. Rozik glared, growling slightly. The echidna followed.

"Wait," he said. "Can't I come with you?"

"Let me think...no," Rozik snarled. "Look, shouldn't you be at home with your parents or something, kid?" The spectator looked confused.

"...Parents?" He blinked. "What's that? Is that what you are?" Rozik raised an eyebrow. Not only was this echidna stupid enough to walk up to a mighty hunter like himself right after a battle, but he didn't even know...How could someone not know that? The echidna's ignorance was sincere.

"How did you get here, then?" Rozik asked. The blue furred anthro shrugged.

"All I remember was running from the guards, and then there was this light or something...I think." His eyes sparkled a little as he said this, and Rozik noticed the boy's eyes were different colors, with one light blue and the other violet. Not that black eyes were the norm either.

"Guards? From where?" Rozik asked, interested now.

"I dunno. I think it was called pixel...pristal...pri-"

"Prixtal?" The echidna nodded, and Rozik's eyes widened. Prixtal was the country's government system. Many people believed that they had been hiding something for a while, but no one was allowed to question the authority of Prixtal's rule. It was also rumored that those captured had never escaped. However, this naive little boy had.

Rozik never really cared for things such as this in the first place, but it was an odd coincidence nonetheless. This boy would probably reap a high reward if returned to Prixtal, but there was something else. If someone was able to escape from the government when no one else could, he might prove a valuable ally, ignorant or not.

"Fine, I suppose you can come along," Rozik muttered. "If Prixtal's after you, you probably shouldn't stick around here much longer. Come on." The echidna's face lit up, and he walked right next to the hunter.

"So, where're we headed?"

"Somewhere. Don't ask questions." A few minutes of silence. "You know, you might want to tell me your name."

"Name? Oh, you mean what they call people?" The echidna thought a minute. "Don't think I have one." Rozik raised an eyebrow.

"No name?"

"Nope. I was always called 6-6-5, but those are letters, right?" The boy pointed to his left cheek, where the numbers 6-6-5 were burned into his skin. He smiled. "So, how do I get a name?"

"I don't know..." Rozik grumbled. "Look, I won't deal with you for long. I'll just call you...Gary." The echidna thought for a minute.

"Gary...I like it!" Gary smiled. "Say, do I give you a name now?"

"I already have one. Call me Rozik."

"Rozik! Okay buddy."

"Did I say we were buddies?" Rozik growled.

"Doesn't mean we can't be buddies, Roz." At the sound of his new nickname,

Rozik glared at the annoying little furball. However, his view of the boy would change soon enough...


	2. Welcome to Blackthorn City

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Blackthorn City**

As the pair made their way through the city, Gary marveled pretty much everything that he saw. It was all new to him, since this was his first time being out of the prison at Prixtal. Despite the fact that everything was gray, worn-out and rusty, it was wondrous all the same. Something caught his eyes as he looked up, which in his opinion was hard to believe.

"Rozik, look up there!" Gary exclaimed, tugging on the hedgehog's jacket. "The ceiling's moving! Look!" Rozik looked up, following his gaze. Overhead, vast gray clouds of storms and smog rolled lazily by, with a small bright area indicating the sun.

"Don't tell me you haven't seen the sky before," Rozik muttered in reply. "Are you that deprived?"

"Sky? I think I've heard the word before. Is that what a moving ceiling is called?"

"…The sky is what's overhead. It's always moving like that. That's the clouds." Gary stared up in awe.

"Clouds and sky…it's pretty." He looked over to his hedgehog companion, who had already begun to walk ahead, and ran to catch up.

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Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at their destination. It was an old, rusty building that had once been a storehouse for a nearby weapon factory. It seemed lifeless, save for a small glow of light visible through the small windows.

"This is the place," Rozik said. "Don't do anything stupid." He stood in front of one of the doors, cursing when it wouldn't open from the ever-increasing rust. The door eventually opened when subjected to a full-force kick, creaking as it opened. The white hedgehog strode in, echidna right behind him. There were various objects lined up against the walls, mainly old crates and gadgets. One of he machines looked like a small airplane that wasn't quite finished yet, surrounded by scattered tools.

"What is this place?" Gary asked.

"Funny you should ask that." The speaker wasn't Rozik, but a lady instead. Two girls came into view. The speaker was a mantis, who looked about twenty or so in age. She was dressed in red eastern-style clothing, which contrasted against her green skin and hair. The other was a rabbit, whose appearance showed that she was the builder of the airplane and gadgets, with various tools and oil stains on her maintenance clothes. Both of them seemed interested by the arrival of the echidna.

"What'd you find this time Rozik?" The rabbit-girl asked. "Is it an echidna? Echidnas aren't, like, too common nowadays. Why's this one here?"

"He followed me," was the snowy hedgehog's reply. "Says he escaped from Prixtal." The words left his mouth almost emotionlessly, reminding Gary of the guards at the prison, who could kill without even blinking.

"You know no one's escaped," Stated the mantis. "And if he did, wouldn't you have already turned him in for a reward already?"

"…Thought Brom might be interested. Besides, this kid doesn't even know left from right. He wouldn't last out there five seconds."

"Yes I would!" Gary defended. "Besides, Roz wouldn't take me back to Prixtal, would you buddy?"

"I would, and as I told you already, I am not your buddy. Shut up." The two girls exchanged glances. Both of them, for as long as they had known Rozik, he had never thought twice about turning someone in. The boy seemed odd too, being able to act so naïve.

"We really should hear him out before we consider turning him in," The mantis decided. "Okay boy, how'd you escape Prixtal?" There was silence for a moment.

"I dunno," he stated finally. "I just found my cell unlocked one day. No one bothered to close it, so I walked out. A lot of guards began to chase me with their guns and stuff, so I ran away. Then they surrounded me, and they were yelling stuff, but then there was this light. Next thing I know, they're gone." Gary blinked. "Was that good?"

"He's high on something," the rabbit exclaimed. "That's like, the only logical explanation. No one could just…disappear."

"While it's rare, it is possible, Orea." Everyone turned, coming face-to-face with an ox. He was a lethal looking beast, taller than all the others with rippling muscles underneath his ebony fur. Various scars decorated his body, casting off a hostile air. It wasn't hard to tell that he was the leader of the small group.

"Hi, I'm Gary!" Gary greeted, oblivious to the fact the bull could probably smite him with one blow.

"Brom," The bull replied. "You say there was a light?"

"Yep!" The young boy agreed. "There was this big, shiny light, and all the soldiers were tossed to the walls. Next thing I know, I'm in this corridor made of brick or something, (he means an alleyway) and I find Roz here!" The ox nodded.

"And Rozik, did you notice anything?"

"No, had to deal with another ambush," The black-clad hedgehog replied. "He just showed up after that." This seemingly impossible information swirled around the leader's brain.

"Chaos Control," Brom stated at last. "That's the only other explanation. It's an old legend that echidnas could harness the disorder in the world, and bend it to their own will. Teleportation was indeed among their capabilities." He mulled over this a few more seconds. "It would indeed be terrible if Prixtal were to get their hands on him again, especially once they figured out his Chaos Magic. Any suggestions on what should be done?"

"I could possibly convince my Uncle to hide him," The mantis suggested. "He's as much against the government as we are."

"A plausible idea Seema," Brom decided. "Any others?"

"I know!" Rabbit-girl squealed in excitement. "Since he, like, already knows where we are and everything, how about we make him one of us?"

"Hell no, not that thing," Rozik growled, glaring at Gary with disgust. "If I'd known you'd suggest that, I would have just turned him in anyway." Gary laughed happily.

"Very funny Rozik! For a minute, I thought you meant that!" The young escapee turned to Brom. "What are you guys anyway?"

"Bounty Hunters," was the leader's immediate reply. "We capture those wanted for crimes, both for and against the law. Dead or Alive." He looked the echidna over. "I am not sure if I approve of the idea. I do not wish to send another innocent into this fight." Gary's eyes lit up.

"Fight?" he asked. "I was forced to do some of that at Prixtal. It was for some kind of test or something…it's fun!" His tail wagged in excitement. "I saw Rozik fighting earlier too, and it was so awesome! Can I join, then? Please?" Everyone except the rabbit girl (Whom Brom had called "Orea," Gary remembered,) seemed skeptical.

"I suppose if he's escaped from Prixtal," The mantis (Seema was her name, wasn't it?) began to explain, "They'll start looking for him immediately. He'll probably get wound up in this mess anyway, so why not? Besides, ever since that gang-fight few months ago, we have been short on hunters."

"…I shall think on this for a bit. I will return shortly." With that, Brom made his way out of the building, leaving the others alone. Gary caught a few words muttered under Rozik's breath, but he had no clue what they meant, save for the angry tone he used them in.

In the short period of time the oxen had left, Gary managed to figure out quite a bit from the rabbit-girl, whose name was indeed Orea. They were one of many bounty hunter groups in the city, which was called Blackthorn City, one of the biggest cities in the country (excluding Almarant, the capitol). Because of all the people in the city, and the lack of jobs, many citizens were forced into illegal business, bounty hunting being one of the options. In fact, the whole city (and most of the surrounding area) was like one giant slum, with a few small areas of rich aristocrats.

The members of the group he met today were the only members left. There had been more, but they had been caught in a gang-fight, and were presumed dead. Brom had always been the leader, and was a tactician as well as a strong soldier. In fact, he had once worked as a guard for Prixtal, but Orea didn't know much more than that. She herself was an orphan he had taken under his wing, and she became a member because of her natural abilities with machines. Seema was a the runaway daughter of an aristocrat who had joined a few years back, and was often sent either on stealth missions, or was paired for bounties with Rozik.

As a matter of fact, Rozik was probably the most enigmatic of them all. He was a boy that showed up one day, wanting to join the group, mainly for money. No one knew where he lived, or anything else about him (except, she let on, that he had a fondness for alcohol, and was deadly with his clawed gauntlets). The hedgehog also had a reportedly short temper outside of battle. Orea had giggled at that, only to get a threat from Rozik to be disemboweled if she didn't shut up (which prove her point right there).

"I have decided," Brom stated upon his return. "Gary shall, if that is what he wishes, to join us as a bounty hunter. In return, we shall guard him from any and all attempts to send him back to Prixtal. Do you all accept?"

"Yes!" Gary exclaimed. "I accept!"

"I agree sir," Seema replied formally.

"Totally all the way!" Orea cheered. "Welcome to the team Gary!"

"I suppose it's too late to turn him in now," Rozik said. "Fine, might as well. Just don't let him get in my way." Brom smirked.

"On the contrary, Rozik, I am assigning him to be a…partner of sorts to you." The white hunter's eyes widened in fury.

"WHAT THE F---K DID YOU JUST SAY?!?" He yelled vehemently. "I am not, repeat, NOT working with that cretin! I just brought him in, nothing more. Count me out." The hedgehog made his way to the door.

"Come on partner, it's gonna' be fun!" Gary exclaimed, putting an arm on his "buddy's" shoulder. "Now we can hunt those bounty people together! What do you say?"

"F-off jackarse." Rozik snarled.

"Okay! What's that mean, anyway?" The echidna asked. And thus, a most unlikely partnership had formed.


	3. Preferably Dead

**Chapter 2: Preferably Dead**

Night in Blackthorn City wasn't that different from the day. Since the sun could barely penetrate the think clouds and smog anyway, there wasn't much difference when it was gone. There were still beggars on the streets, an array of shady characters, and citizens with their heads hung low. The presence of the two bounty hunters, Rozik and the new recruit Gary, didn't seem that conspicuous. To Gary, the scene didn't differ much from the prison of Prixtal, except for the absence of barred cells and cages.

"I still can't believe Brom put you on a mission this soon," Rozik grumbled. "I could have done this alone, but now I have to babysit you too." Brom didn't want to send the echidna out that soon, of course, but a sudden mission request had come up, and no one else was available.

"So…what are we after again?" Gary asked.

"It's some merchant suspected of illegal weapon shipping, that's all. The only important thing is the guy who sent us out is giving us a good deal of money for it."

"Okay, we barge in, capture the guy, and come back, right?" Rozik smirked.

"No, this one's wanted "Preferably Dead,"" The white hedgehog explained. "You do know what "Dead" means, right? We kill him." In the hunter's opinion, if Gary couldn't deal with killing someone, he would be kicked out of the group, and then he'd be free of the rascal. Even Brom knew there was no use in someone who couldn't do anything.

"Seriously dead?" The newbie asked. A few faint memories in the back of his mind reminded him of other captives dieing, or being dragged away to never return. Some of them screamed, and some just faded away. A shiver went down the boy's spine. Then again, if the soldiers could destroy someone without even batting an eyelash, it couldn't be that hard, could it?

The shop and house of Jaen Harway, their bounty, had been in his family for years. The house was old, one of the few remaining wood buildings left, about two stories high. The building was starting to finally rot, a faint odor in the air around it. A crooked red sign hung from the entrance, its chipped paint showing the words "We Are Currently Closed," or something like that.

"This is the part where we barge in, right?" Gary asked excitedly. His heart began to race, for here he was, on his first mission! Rozik shook his head.

"One of the few rules of our group is to not kill innocents. And, as far as we know, only Jaen is wanted, so we can't kill anyone else. Unless, of course, they decide to attack us first."

"So how do we get in?" Gary's enthusiasm went down a little, but his blood was still pumping. His companion pointed up to a window on the second floor. The glass was cracked, with bits of moss in the windowsill.

"We climb in." Rozik pulled out his clawed gauntlets, slipping them on like gloves. One claw was then thrust partway through the cracks in the wood, and the other one above it, like a rock-climber grabbing the ledges in a rock face. Using it like this, the white hedgehog easily started to climb. Gary watched, and then looked at his own fists. The two spikes on his knuckles were kind of like claws, weren't they? No reason why he shouldn't try. Remarkably, the method worked for the echidna too, and he began to climb up the wall (imagine Knuckles the Echidna climbing, it's basically like that).

In a matter of minutes, the pair was both positioned to either side of the window, peering inside. A gray squirrel, Jaen Harway, paced about the room, looking over his files of profits and losses for the month. In the corners of the room rested large, wooden crates. Only one of them was open, with a few guns and knives sticking out. Their hirer had been right, he was smuggling weapons in.

"Now we can barge in," The white hunter whispered one second, for he was gone the next, charging past the broken glass. Gary jumped in right behind him, not wanting to miss the action. Sadly, there was no chase, seeing as Rozik was already pinning the bounty to the ground. There was a bit of a scuffle, since the rodent was a bit larger than his predator, but the resistance didn't last long.

"Wh…what do you want me for?" Jaen squeaked in fear. It wasn't everyday that one was being stared down by a hunter that could kill you in the blink of an eye. Rozik snarled, since he didn't generally answer these questions. However, Gary didn't know that.

"We're bounty hunters!" he exclaimed. "Somebody wants you dead for smuggling weapons, so they ordered us!" His partner raised an eyebrow.

"Must you? It doesn't matter what we tell him, he's as good as dead anyway." Jaen tried to squirm away from the claws that held him, only to have one of them slashed across his chest, as a kind of warning. The hedgehog wasted no time in killing; he was used to this. The other, however, was not. The sudden realization hit him, that this other person was about to be murdered right in front of him.

"Rozik, don't," the boy cried as his partner prepared the final blow. "I mean, you can't just kill him. He's alive, just like us!" The squirrel nodded in silent agreement.

"…and your point is?" Rozik asked. "People always die, people just like us. Besides, taking people out is our job. You scared?" There was a pause. "If you can only stand there, how about making yourself useful? Make sure there are no cops outside." Gary slowly nodded, looking away.

_"I guess this is why Brom didn't want me to join at first…"_ His thoughts decided. _"Is it really that easy for people to kill one another? There's no sense-"_

_**BANG!!!**_ The sound of a gunshot rang through the air, ending the echidna's thoughts. Somehow, Jaen had mustered enough strength to temporarily get Rozik off of him, and make a run for his weapons. As of now, the bounty was next to his weapon crates, pistol in hand as blood seeped down his chest. Where the white hunter was, he wasn't sure.

"I ain't going down…without a fight," Raising the gun, Jaen aimed it straight at Gary. A maniacal smirk was on his face, the kind one gets when they go into a last-ditch effort to save their life, regardless of cost. Another bullet thrust through the air, barely missing its target. Instinct suddenly took Gary over, and with fists extended, the echidna boy charged at his foe. He struck rapidly and furiously, dealing blow after blow. The pistol fell to the floor with a thunk, leaving the squirrel defenseless to the fists that pummeled his body. The body was soon tossed to the wall, falling into a bloody heap on the floor. It moved no more.

Gary stared in shock. Had he done that? He looked over the body, which was soaked in blood. The limbs were a mangled mess, and there was a vast array of broken bones.

"I see you aren't totally useless after all," Gary whipped his head toward the speaker, which was none other than Rozik.

"Hey, where were you?" The echidna asked. "I thought you were supposed to…you know, kill him. So what did you...?" A smirk came upon the hedgehog's face.

"I decided to test your worth," he replied. "To see if you could actually kill someone, or if you were useless. I must admit…you aren't half bad, kid." Despite what he had done, Gary smiled at the compliment.

"Thanks," he said. "But what if I hadn't of done it?"

"Simple. You'd be dead, I'd kill Jaen, and I wouldn't have to deal with either of you. Come on, we need to get this body to the others, so we can collect our reward." Seeing the disgusted look on the echidna's face at the idea of carrying a dead man, he couldn't help but snicker.

"Do we have to carry that the whole way?"

"We could just take the head. I'm sure I have a bag with me, and the blood soaking wouldn't be too bad after we chop the head off…" Gary almost puked right there, even though Rozik was being sarcastic (at least, he seemed to be). The pair eventually ended up emptying one of the weapon crates, placing the body inside and carrying it in that. "No one would suspect us that way, you see."

Gary couldn't help but wonder about what exactly he was doing as he carried the crate silently through the various backstreets and alleys. It all seemed so odd…here he was, killing someone who could have killed him first, despite having not seemed all that dangerous at first, with his "partner" being a dangerous hunter. And before this, he was…

_"What was I doing? I remember being in Prixtal and all that, but nothing else. As if I've been there all my life. But I haven't, have I? Everything here seems so strange...there must be something I don't remember. I'm almost positive I'm forgetting something..."_

_"But what?"_


	4. Guardian

**Chapter 3: Guardian**

Gary sighed, leaning back against the wall. He and Rozik had successfully delivered the body back to base, from where Brom had taken it to deliver it to the hirer. Rozik was still hanging around to collect his part of the pay when Brom came back. Seema was flitting around from place to place as she checked things over, and Orea was working on one of her machines. It seemed somewhat peaceful; it unnerved him.

No, it wasn't that exactly. The young boy was still shaken by the murder he had committed only hours before. He hadn't even meant to, but he did mean it at the same time. It was confusing, especially the only others he had witnessed killing people had been the Prixtal soldiers. Just remembering that sent a shiver down his spine. With nothing better to do, Gary walked over to the rabbit girl.

"Hey Orea," The machinist looked up from her work. Her eyes were remarkably green, which was the opposite color of the bright pink hair atop her head.

"Gary! I see you're back from the mission! Did it, like, go well? I know it was probably hard, being your first one and all." The echidna nodded.

"Can I ask you a question Orea?" He asked. She nodded slowly. "How come people can kill others so easily? Is it natural or something?"

"What makes you, like, ask that?"

"Well, everyone around here, and all the people at Prixtal…they all take death really easy. It doesn't even phase them. Am I missing something?" Orea was kind of taken aback; this didn't seem like the lively young boy she had spoke with earlier. He must have been rather disturbed, she concluded.

"Some people handle it easily," Was her reply. "By now, there's so much death around, it doesn't seem as big of a deal unless it's someone close to you that dies. That's what I think."

"What about the killers? I mean, are we supposed to feel sad, or…" Images of soldiers filled his mind again, "…nothing?"

"Not at all," This came from Seema, who had noticed their conversation. "Trust me Gary, it isn't easy. I have to do assassin missions, and I feel sad sometimes too. More like guilty." The mantis gracefully sat down on a crate next to them. "You eventually realize these people have done some wrong if they're being called out to die, but you can't help but feel sorry for most of them. It seems wrong sometimes, and when it doesn't, then you can't help but wonder…" She shook whatever she had been thinking off. "Just don't forget, okay? Feeling emotions means you're alive." Gary nodded.

"Thanks a lot." It made him feel at least a little better. The newbie looked over at Rozik. "Do you feel sad about it too Rozik?"

"Sad?" Rozik let out a harsh laugh. "I don't give a rat's arse, when it comes down to it. They'll die anyway, so it's just better to get 'em now for the goods." His black eyes narrowed a bit, looking like the slit pupils of a tiger.

"Don't scare him Rozik," Seema ordered him. "He's still a kid, after all."

"And who are you? My grandmother or something?" The mantis glared at the hedgehog.

"You think you can get away with everything, don't you?"

"I don't think, I know."

"Yeah, you don't think because you drowned your brain in booze!" The snowy hunter growled as he thought up a comeback.

"Fine, and you, Seema, are a bitch. We equal?" This, of course, only made it worse, escalating into a full-fledged argument. Orea sighed.

"Trust me, this happens a lot," She explained to Gary. "How they can work with each other so well on the battlefield is beyond me.

"…Orea, what's a bitch? And booze?" He listened to the argument a few minutes. "And what about that one word, fu-"

"I'll explain later Gary. Just don't say them, okay?"

"Okay!"

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It wasn't long after that Brom arrived, clearing up the fight. Rozik and Seema both departed for their own homes (Seema lived with her Uncle, and Orea guessed Rozik hung around a bar), while the remaining three hunters remained at the base to sleep. Brom, Orea, and Gary each got separate areas, with Gary's being in the unused corner, near the wall of supply crates. He didn't mind, for the bedding was better than what he got at Prixtal. However, that night, a rather odd dream came to him in his sleep.

The young echidna looked around his surroundings. It was completely different from Prixtal and Blackthorn City. Small green things littered the ground (the word Grass came to mind), with larger objects that were like buildings almost, colored brown with multiple hues on top (Tree, he thought, but he didn't know why). Looking up, he saw the sky, except this time, it was mostly blue, and only a few white clouds floated overhead.

"I've been here before," Gary thought. "But when?" Then he noticed something: Other echidnas. Echidnas of all kinds, all gathered around some kind of shrine. A giant gem stood atop the altar, glowing a beautiful white light.

"Clan of the Sky!" Called out what seemed to be the eldest of the group. "We have gathered today to proclaim the next heir to the Guardian of the Maelstrom Crystal!" Cheers erupted from the crowd, no one noticing Gary. All except one. A small boy with dark blue fur and gray stripes looked over. One blue eye and one violet eye stared at a pair exactly the same.

"Hey…that's me!"

Before he could say more, the gathering of echidnas faded away, and the echidna woke. The bounty hunter base was dark, the light sound of snoring emanating from the other side of the building. A few minutes were spent lying wide awake. After awhile, the young hunter decided to go outside and think. He didn't stop to think that there might be some suspicious figures out at night, and just walked right out.

Cool was the night air, though not unbearably so. The smell of smog still hung in the air, a lingering reminder of the factories that worked 24/7. The echidna didn't notice most people on the streets, for something caught his attention. A glimpse of black and white turned around a corner into an alleyway. Curiosity took over as Gary followed, unaware how many times curiosity tended to kill the cat. Footsteps softly sounded on the concrete ground, coming to a stop. A nearby sign read, "Blackthorn Housing District B-5" so Gary guessed that whoever he was following lived here. Looking a little closer, he figured it wasn't a stranger at all, but Rozik instead. The hedgehog in front of him paused a moment, crushing an empty can of beer in his hand. He wasn't too incredibly drunk, but enough for him not to notice his partner follow behind him. After tossing the can behind him, the hedgehog continued onto the housing area.

"What a day," Rozik groaned as he scanned the mass of houses for his own. Eyes resting on a house that looked almost exactly like the surrounding group, he slipped over to the door and knocked. "Unlock the door Al, I'm back." Gary watched his partner go in, and waited a few minutes before peering through the window.

The inside was small, having only three rooms (one bedroom, one bathroom, and the main room). There was Rozik, who was currently getting glomped by a little girl. She had ash-gray fur with a small pink dress. The young girl squealed happily as she held onto the hunter, and Gary thought he heard her say something like "Brother."

"Cool it Suzy, I wasn't gone that long," Rozik groaned, although a half-smile was on his face.

"Yes you were Wozik," the girl exclaimed, holding onto his jacket. "I waited all night just fow you! But don't tell Alcy, okay?" She was five years old at the most. Just watching her made Gary smile.

"You had us worried, Rozik." This was a bat, purple-furred and red-headed, dressed in black and crimson. She leaned over a chair, giving the white hedgehog a poke on the arm. "What took you?"

"I found this echidna kid," The hunter explained, "and Brom decided to make him my partner." Little Suzy continued to mess with him, now attempting to climb atop him without getting poked by his quills. "Off, Sis."

"Ohh…" It clicked in the mind of the echidna outside: Suzy must be Rozik's younger sibling. Meanwhile, the bat wore an amused face.

"I thought Seema was your partner?"

"I told you already Al'catraz, I just work with her. Brom should know by now, I. Don't. Do. Partners!"

"Well, if you're that bad with allies, you should be able to drop him in no time, right?" A low growl came from the hedgehog's throat (Gary didn't know they could growl, but apparently, they could), but it was hard to tell if it was the conversation that was on his nerves, or the little sister that clambered about him.

"He doesn't understand anything Al, that's the odd part," Rozik finally said, deciding to stick with the conversation. "He says he escaped from Prixtal, but he is absolutely oblivious to the most obvious things. Like the fact I hate his guts. Unless I got to rip them out, of course." Gary snickered from behind the window; His partner was so funny, pretending to hate him. Suzy noticed the echidna while her brother and the bat talked, and not knowing any better, the little girl waved. Gary waved back.

"Hi Suzy!" Gary greeted happily. Though the glass window muffled the sound a little, it was still loud enough for Rozik to hear. The hedgehog whipped around, his face contorting from confusion, to surprise, and finally, to anger.

"And what business do you have following me around, echidna?" A punch shot through the glass, hitting its target straight in the nose. The stunned boy blinked, glass around him.

"Relax Roz, it's just me," He exclaimed. Something wet was on his face. He wiped at it with his paw, recognizing the red liquid as blood. As he did so, the bat was glaring at the white hunter.

"What did you do that for Rozik?" The bat asked. "That's your partner, right?"

"Yes, and he has no reason to follow me here." Gary didn't understand why the hedgehog was so angry. So what if he was with a bat and his little sister? Was that something everyone got angry about? It sure didn't seem like that. Maybe it was one of those "oblivious to the obvious" things. What did that mean, anyway?

"Aw you okay?" Snapping out of his thoughts, Gary looked down at Suzy, who was handing him a small towel. He accepted it, wiping the blood off his face from his bleeding nose.

"Thanks!" He exclaimed. Suzy grinned, looking over to her brother. Rozik said nothing, still not thrilled about the whole thing.

"Least you can do is apologize," The bat groaned. "Not everyone is an enemy, you fuzzbrain." She held out her hand to Gary. "My name's Al'catraz. So what brings you here?"

"I followed Rozik here!" A pause. "Was that bad?"

"Not really." Al'catraz looked over at the hedgehog siblings. "Rozik, how about you get Suzy to bed, okay? I'm sure you can do that without breaking something, can't you?" Rozik looked rather uneased, but he knew better than to argue with his batty friend.

"…Fine, I suppose. Careful Al." After the hedgies exited, the bat turned her attention on the newbie.

"He seems mean, eh?"

"Not really," Gary replied. "My nose kinda' hurts, though." Al sighed.

"He's just wound a little tight. You see, Rozik became a bounty hunter so he could support Suzy and I. I manage to help by stealing what I can, and I've started teaching Suzy as well, but Rozik's work is still a big help."

"That's nice of him, but why's he angry at me? Is it because I found out about you guys?"

"Yep. You see, if more people knew about us, then a few choice people Rozik's angered would have something to strike at. It's just being cautious." Gary thought a minute.

"Like a guardian!" He exclaimed. Al'catraz thought a minute.

"I suppose. But for our sake, don't tell anyone about what you saw here tonight. Promise?" Gary nodded.

"Promise. Now, just one question."

"What?"

"How do I get back to the base?" At that precise moment (due to his horrible sense of timing), Rozik just so happened to have finished getting his sister to bed, and had stepped back outside.

"Rozik, get over here," Al'catraz ordered, forcibly pulling the collar of his jacket far enough that he came with it.

"What now?"

"As a make-up apology, you are leading Gary back to the Bounty Hunter Base, since you know where it is, and he doesn't. Got it?" Growling ensued.

"Why do you have to treat me like a five-year old? I am older than Suzy, you know."

"And I am older than you. Since I am the only responsible one around here, what I say goes." There was a staring contest, as black eyes burned into blue ones. Gary, not knowing what to do in such a contest, just crossed his eyes (which hurt a few seconds later). The staring continued for a few more seconds, when Rozik finally blinked. Growling, he began to lead Gary away by the arm.

"…Never befriend a girl that's older than you kid; They won't let you live it down. Come on then, let's get going"

"What was that all about?" He was kind of surprised there were no insults involved. All he got was a growl.

"She's the closest you can get to an older sister without having one. Even I know better than to argue with that. Now let's go before I change my mind."


	5. Fire Heart

**Chapter 4: Fire Heart**

Fog, Gary supposed, was a lot like the inside of a cloud. It was a rather foggy that day, only a day or two after the echidna had been found. Another mission had been taken up, and their client was supposed to meet them by the riverside. A large river, the Genile, flowed freely through Blackthorn City, and past a few more cities to the ocean. It was medium sized, large enough that supply boats could go through the small part of town where the river consisted. Genile's murky blue-gray waters, combined with the chilly air and fog, sent a chill up the spines of most.

Gary sat on the edge of the concrete, dangling his legs over the river that was a few feet below. Rozik watched as he leaned against a nearby wall, and Seema, who had been called to do the mission with the boys, was hovering a few feet off the ground. In her hand was the mission request letter their client had sent them.

"He should be here any minute now," The mantis informed them. The boys could only take her word for it, since neither of them could read (Gary never learned how, and Rozik, although he wouldn't admit it, was far-sighted).

"So who's hiring us again?" The white hunter asked. Seema looked back at the paper.

"Darem Fireheart."

"You ain't serious. What could that lizard wanna' be want this time?" Gary wondered silently what a lizard looked like, when a bleak light shone from around the river bend. As it came closer, it was revealed to be a boat, designed like a miniature pirate ship. A lantern fixated on the prow cast a dull orange glow onto the water, with more light reflecting on small red stones that decorated the ship. It slowly docked, rocking slightly as a plank was pushed out for the arrivals.

"Guess we have to meet him on his terms," Seema noted. Rozik spat at the side of the street before stepping onto the plank, and into the vessel. The mantis girl followed shortly after, and Gary had no choice but to follow them. An odd feeling pricked at the nape of his neck, though he had no idea why…

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"It looks like me' favorite Bounty Hunters have returned. Welcome back." Hedgehog, mantis, and echidna were each in the boat, in a sort of meeting room with their client, which was a rather odd creature to begin with. He looked exactly like a lizard…if lizards had horns, spiked tails, wings, and a mane of spiked blond hair, that is. Gary couldn't help but notice that one of the lizard-like being's eyes was covered up by an eye patch. Whether this was for a reason other than looking like a pirate (which was apparently what the rest of his outfit was for), it was hard to tell.

"Nice to see you too, lizard boy," Rozik growled. Their client looked rather offended.

"That be dragon to you Rozzer," The dragon looked over at Gary. "Ah, I see we have another young'un, eh? The name be Darem, kid, so what'd yours be?"

"Gary!" Came the reply. "So what's our mission? Is there fighting involved?" Gary had somewhat gotten over the effects of his first mission. He still wanted to fight, as long as the killing could be kept to a minimum. Darem chuckled.

"There probably will be some fighting, me' boy. Let's be getting down to business then, eh?" Darem cleared his throat. "To start, it seems that someone has finally decided to put a bounty on me' head."

"So you're calling us to kill you and collect it?" Rozik interrupted, smirking fiendishly. "That's rather nice of you, Scaly."

"If I be enough of a threat to you that you wish to kill me, then I be honored. But no, that's not what I called ye' here for." There probably would have been another interruption if Seema hadn't elbowed the snowy hedgehog in the ribs before he thought of a retort. Darem continued. "I was actually hoping to hire you to make sure that no one manages to collect that bounty. I'll make it worth your time if you do. How's that, eh?"

Rozik shook his head. "Hell n-"

"Sure thing!" Gary interrupted this time. Black eyes glared at him, but the echidna remained as unvigilant as always. Seema nodded.

"I'm sure we could do it. You were part of the team once, after all." Gary's eyes widened as she said this.

"You were, Darem?"

"Sure thing me' hearty. I was a hunter until I got enough money to run me' boat. Since then, I've been here doing trade and market jobs. Once I finally, get enough cash on me'…well, that should be obvious for a dragon like me' self."

Gary paused to think. "No, not really."

"Find all the other dragons on the seas, o' course! That's what the goal of all we dragons be! Can't make your race a legend again if you aren't together, eh?"

"Don't start on that," Rozik grumbled. "We better get paid double the bounty reward for this job, Scaly." Gary didn't pay much attention to what followed, since a lot of it was price negotiations and an argument between Darem and Rozik over some old rivalry thing. Seema explained the pair were old rivals in the group, with her being the one that always stopped the fights that broke out. The echidna nodded like he understood, not paying much attention. It was kind of fun to watch the duo argue anyway.

-----------------------------------------

In accordance to Gary's memory, nothing exciting happened until later in the day. Their dragon client had led them back to town, where he had to deliver to the black market some rather "legally questionable" herbs called Likwead. Darem had no problem with what he delivered (he himself actually smoked cigarettes, so it wasn't too big a deal to him), and neither did the hunters…except the fact that they had to help carry the stuff.

"Aye, might as well be occupied instead of being bored, eh?" He was in front with Rozik and the first load of Likwead, while Gary and Seema carried the second. It wasn't hard at all for the newbie. He was stronger than some from enduring Prixtal Prison, and Seema was surprisingly strong for someone who looked so delicate.

"You okay?" The echidna looked over at Seema, whom had asked this sudden question.

"Of course, I'm fine! Why, is there a problem?" The girl shrugged.

"I'm just wondering how you're doing since your first mission. Think you'll be able to handle things like that?" Gary thought a minute.

"Well, if I have to kill, then that's what I have to do, right? That's what you all do."

"I suppose. I'm just surprised you adapted so…quickly, I guess." The mantis shifted her side of the luggage. "I was just wondering, that's all."

"So why'd you join, Seema?" Gary asked. She blinked.

"You mean, why'd I become a Bounty Hunter? It's not really important." Her foot began to kick a small pebble as she walked. "My parents own a military training base for Prixtal. I found out about it over time, and it really. All these soldiers were just…lifeless. Empty. Even if they didn't come in that way, that's how they came out. That's why they can be so ruthless without batting an eye. How they end up like that, I have no idea." Her eyes focused on the little rock she kicked. "I overheard my parents talking one night. They were planning to put me in the military, and become like all the others. They don't care that I'm their daughter. So…I ran away to stay with my uncle, and I went against the government without my parents knowing." She unconsciously kicked the pebble a little too hard, and it sailed through the air, hitting Rozik in the back of the head.

"What the hell was that for?" The snowy hunter barked. "My head isn't exactly a target, y'know."

"It be big enough to be one Rozzer," Darem replied jokingly, poking the target's head with his spiked tail. "All we need to be doing is painting a red bulls-eye on it."

"Shut it Scaly, or I'll personally disembowel you."

Gary watched, smiling. However, something out of view caught his attention. It was a kind of feeling, like knowing someone was nearby, even though there was almost no way to tell. He tensed, for he could tell they were coming closer.

That's when he saw it: A Government Issue helmet peeking from behind a corner. The soulless eyes of the bearer were covered in dark goggles, its ears pricked up in alert. A military standard NT-55 Rifle was staring the echidna right in the face. The trigger finger moved.

"Get down!" Ditching the Likwead, Gary threw himself to the ground as a bullet whizzed by, having almost been shot in the head. The soldier nearby was almost immediately taken out by Seema, who had him down in seconds upon the attack. Rozik and Darem both tossed their luggage aside, Rozik pulling out his claws. More soldiers began to surround them, coming out of places the crew had passed only moments before.

"Hand over Project 6-6-5, and we'll let you by," Said a soldier dressed in a red outfit, signifying his status as Commander of that squadron.

"After you shoot us, more likely. I don't think so, buddy." As the words escaped, bullets began to ring through the air. Darem and Rozik charged at their opponents, claws and fangs ripping flesh as soldiers attempted to flee. Seema passed by many enemies, almost like an evil sprite as her sharp pincers sliced their throats, leaving them to suffocate. In the confusion, Gary managed to take out some soldiers himself. There wasn't any time to ponder on how many he killed, only the next foe as his punches came in rapid succession. The soldiers themselves fought back with bullets and concealed knives, crimson blood flying amongst every single fighter. However, as one soldier hit the ground, five more came in his place. The streets were now crowded with bodies, both live and dead, as citizens unfortunate enough to be outside tried to escape the carnage.

"We aren't getting anywhere fast," Rozik growled, trying to fight off his own set of soldiers with one of his arms hanging bloody and limp at his side.

"Not much we can do, they're swarming like flies," Seema cried. She had to take her foes out on the ground now, her wings being shot at far too many times. Gary didn't say anything; his mind was far too focused on what lay before him as he dealt blow after blow.

"Alright, let's see if I can help out." Darem, who had been fighting with knives plundered from some of the earlier corpses, backed up a few steps. Taking in a deep breath of air tainted with the stench of blood, the dragon ignited the oxygen in his lungs, blasting it out in a powerful blast of fire. The widespread flames passed quickly as the opposing forces alit with fire, the smell of burning flesh beginning to hang in the air. Gary watched in awe, even as he fought. He had never seen the lights of fire before.

"Do not fall back!" Screeched the Commander. "Do not leave without Project 6-6-5!" The remaining soldiers cried out in agreement. Unbelievably, even more began to emerge.

"They must have sent a whole platoon after us!" Seema yelled. Suddenly, a loud rumbling was heard. An enormous vehicle, almost the size of a tank, ran across corpses. Its black armor was loaded with ammunition, and on of the top was a certain rabbit with a trigger-happy AK-47, and another certain bull at the wheel.

"Orea and Brom! Perfect timing!" As the mass of weaponry sped by, the four hunters jumped onto the vehicle, making a quick escape.

"And don't you dare come back, ya' buggers!" Orea taunted at the soldiers as they disappeared behind them, firing off a few more shot to make her point. "No one tries to kill off MY partners!" The rabbit looked over to her comrades. "That was pretty damn close. You all okay?"

"A bit battered an' bruised, but I think we be managing," Darem replied. Seema nodded in agreement. Rozik was off in his own little world, so he didn't reply.

"Do soldiers always invade like that?" Gary asked. "I mean, that seemed like a lot."

"It is a lot," Brom replied from the driver's seat. "I believe I am correct in saying they were after you, Gary." It did make sense, the echidna decided. He had escaped from them, and he was the only one with the numbers 6-6-5 on him, so they probably meant him. "They must be pretty serious, then."

"They would be. Whatever Prixtal wants, Prixtal gets. That's how they see it, at least. They'll probably try again for it soon. Next time…we may not be so lucky."

"Oh," was all Gary could say. From behind him, he could still hear screaming as bright lights of red and orange licked at the sky…

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Almarant City was not only the country's capitol, but the head of Prixtal's operations. The Commander of Platoon 37 marched up the stairs, coming to the office door. He knocked.

"Enter," Came the chilly voice of their leader. The Commander entered the office, a room completely shadowed in darkness. It was like a room where one temporarily became blind, unable to see the face of their leader. Most people would have been scared, but the Commander had lost that feeling a long time ago.

"Mercy, our mission has been carried out, sir."

"The echidna?"

"…I am unable to report success. He has managed to escape. Most of Platoon 37 has been annihilated as well." An icy hand gripped the Commander's neck from out of the darkness. Flickers of the old emotion "fear" almost surfaced in the Commander's mind.

"I will get that echidna, Commander," Replied the chilling voice. "I shall have the last true guardian of the crystals. None of our artificial lifeforms have been able to control it successfully, and you know that. I shall have control of the Maelstrom Crystals. Do you hear me?"

"I hear and obey, sir. Mercy."

"Isn't it ironic?" Fear finally surfaced in the Commander's mind. "My name is Mercy…yet mercy is what I never give." The fragile neck of the Commander was snapped by a hand of ice, and his last breath faded away into the shadows of the room. Mercy laughed quietly.

"Echidna, you shall be mine. And soon, the crystals will follow…"


	6. Beautiful Beast

**Chapter 5: Beautiful Beast**

Numbers and letters flickered across the screen in an almost senseless order, as if taunting for someone to try to make sense of them. Orea watched them in silence; the pattern was somewhere in this code, she was certain of it. Times like these made her wish coffee was more available in the shops, but alas, it was among one of the many items the district just didn't have.

She sighed. It had been about a week since Prixtal's ambush, and the gang had been lying as low as they could. There hadn't been any missions taken unless it was something extremely quiet and easy, along the lines of petty thievery, message delivery, and the like. Darem had decided to stay with the hunters for a bit, seeing as Prixtal would probably chase him down too after setting a fair amount of their soldiers alight. Yes, everything was quiet…

"What'cha doing?" The rabbit turned her head.

"Oh, hey Gary. I'm, like, trying to see if I can hack into any of Prixtal's information. Most of it seems locked with a triple-bar matrix system, so I can't get in unless I defrag it, but, like, the only way to do that is to-"

"Why are there numbers and stuff on the screen? I can't tell what they say." Gary didn't really have an idea about technology; the conversation lost him at 'hack'. Orea figured this, and decided to translate geek into Gary language.

"Oh, it's just a code I'm trying to crack. If I can get in, I can, like, see what Prixtal is up too. I may even be able to see why they're after you like this." Her echidna companion nodded.

"Say, Orea? Have you ever heard of a…Maelstrom Crystal?"

"Can't say I have. Why?"

"Just wondering…" A loud yelling sound interrupted them. "Uh oh, sounds bad. You coming?" The rabbit girl shook her head; she had work to do. Gary understood, and left her to perform her tech magic. As her fingers flew across the screen, something Gary mentioned stirred in her brain. Quickly grabbing her spare computer, she began to search all databases for entries with information on those 'Maelstrom Crystals'…

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In the main part of the base, rage hung in the air like a thick smoke. The problem was a certain little note. The note had been delivered that morning, issuing a challenge to the hunters. It read as follows:

_To the Bounty Hunters of Blackthorn City under leadership of Brom Caidus:_

_I have heard much about your little group here. You seem to be quite proficient with your work, if my sources are reliable. I wish to meet with you, and discuss a little…proposal, if you will. Send in your most capable hunter, and I shall reveal more. Do not worry; cash is included plentifully._

_Awaiting your arrival,_

_Suomynona_

"I don't see why this should get you so angry," Gary said. A certain white hunter glowered at him.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm the most capable hunter, but Brom won't let me go because my arm hasn't f-ing healed yet! I could still fight one-handed, but no, he said I have to stay here. The bastard."

"You wouldn't go anyway," Seema explained, sitting next to him. "You're much too rash for this. Negotiations and proposals aren't your thing: fighting is. Besides, you can't even handle paperwork."

"It said capable, not genius. Besides-"

"-and you get into arguments with everyone," Seema finished.

"Wow Rozik, you do!" Gary exclaimed.

"…shut up, you," He replied. "Who do you think's going anyway? I don't exactly see that bullhead anywhere, and I doubt anyone could drag Orea from that computer. And don't you dare say Darem, because he isn't a hunter anymore."

"That only leaves me and Seema!" The echidna cried happily. "Right Seema?" A nervous look came across the mantis girl's face.

"Actually, I have some business I need to take care of," She replied quickly. "I think we should wait for Brom to return, and have him decide. As a matter of fact, I have to leave now…so goodbye." Quick as the wind, she disappeared from the building, flying out via a hole in the roof.

"Huh, wonder what the hell that was about," Rozik wondered aloud. "Oh well, guess I have to wait around for that bulls-t. Dammit…" The hedgehog's ears pricked up, for there wasn't an immediate reply. Turning around, he saw that his partner was gone too. In fact, so was the letter…

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Under the message previously stated, Suomynona (which wasn't her/his real name; spell it backwards) had been kind enough to place the coordinates where he/she could be found. Though Gary had absolutely no idea where he was going, he was lucky enough to find some civilians who did. The echidna eventually found himself in what was known as "The Abandoned District," a small portion of the city which had been evacuated after a serious plague outburst a few years back. Even though the sickness had died down, barely anyone set foot in the place. Not that Gary knew this, mind you.

"Hello! Mister-missus Suomi…Swamen…whatever your name is person! You can come out now! Heeeeeelloooo!?!" At first, all was quiet. Slowly but surely, however, the sound of footsteps echoed through the silenced district. The young hunter turned around, coming face-to-face with the prettiest beast he had ever seen.

The creature was a wolverine, covered in fur the color of blood, and fitted in tight white clothing. Her hair was a deep brown, tinted with violet and tousled. A sadistic grin was on her face, and Gary couldn't help but notice her eyes: pure black (Now, who was it that had eyes like that?) as they scowled at him.

"Heh, you're the most capable of the group?" She asked in a menacing tone. "I suppose this will be easier than I thought." The beast pulled out a cat o' tri-tails, each end having a small knife securely attached. "So easy to fool. Better give me a good fight now, boy."

Gary instinctively jumped out of the way as the whips came down, three loud _crack!_ Sounding in quick succession. As his feet touched the ground, his head was hit from behind by a lighting-fast kick. The whips returned, claws imbedding themselves temporarily in his back before being ripped out again. The wolverine smirked as she brought the whip down once more.

"Might as well tell you my name before you die, worm," she hissed. "My name is Lash. Lash the Red Demoness." The tri-tails thrust downward-

"Not so fast!" Someone- Gary couldn't tell who –attacked Lash from behind. Given the opportunity, the echidna had enough time to evade the whips, and get back on his feet. Lash seemed to be fighting someone very familiar: a certain goth-dressed bat he had met only a few weeks ago.

"Al'catraz?" The bat-girl turned her head.

"That's my name," she replied. "I recognized you, so I thought I'd help." Al' had herself a pretty strong set of legs on her, good enough to bang up the blood-red wolverine quite a bit.

"…You know girl," Lash muttered, "It's awful easy to get tripped up now, isn't it?" Two of the three cat-tails were wrapped around the bat's legs, slamming her to the ground. Gary pounced onto the pretty beast's back while Al'catraz attempted to unhook the claws that dug into her limbs.

"Why'd you call us here just to fight?" Gary asked. The first reply was getting thrown off as his enemy performed a spin-kick at the bat on the ground. Al'catraz had enough time to dodge-roll out of the way, one leg freed of the whips.

"Why'd I call you here?" Lash repeated. "Simple: I eliminate hunters. You scum should all be destroyed, so I do that myself one-by-one."

"So you're a Hunter hunter?"

"I suppose you could say that." The beast thrust her clawed hand at the echidna, pulling him back by the quills. All his eyes could stare at was the sky, but for a brief second, he thought he saw something. A little girl…

_**BANG! BANG!**_

Two bullets were fired one after the other, barely missing Lash. A low growl escaped her lips as she looked around. She considered staying, just to take care of these punks now, but she had something else on her agenda today. If all went well in the long run, it would mean that she could take out these hunters later, as well as the hundreds of others that lurked in the city.

"You're lucky today," She hissed. "Just remember my name, worm, because you'll be begging for my forgiveness when the day comes." There was a brief flash of smoke, and then all that was left of her was the wounds she had inflicted. Gary and Al'catraz exchanged glances.

"Why do you think she left?" Al'catraz asked. "Seems rather odd to just start a fight and leave it…"

"Maybe she had to go to the bathroom?" The echidna guessed. "Anyway, where'd those shots come from? Are there soldiers nearby?"

"Teehee, I'm not a soldiew silly." Gary turned to see Suzy behind him, holding a small pistol.

"YOU did that?"

"Yep! Alcy said I have to leawn how to pwotect myself when I'm oldew. She let me twoose a weapon, and I picked this one because it was weal shiny. Bwother and hew didn't think I could use it, but I can!" The little hedge-girl smiled happily. "Did I do good Alcy?"

"Sure thing kid," Al'catraz replied. Gary was a little unnerved at the thought of her with a weapon, but then again, you would expect something so cute to be able to shoot stuff.

"…Thanks again," The echidna said.

"No problem. You seem like a nice enough guy, eh?" The gothic bat nodded. "Well, Suzy and I better head home now and bandage up these wounds. You might want to head back to the base too." Gary agreed, and with a quick exchange of goodbyes, they separated.

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"I'm telling you Brom, I have no idea where he went. Honest!" The leader of the hunters loomed over the white hedgehog, regarding him silently.

"No idea." He stated.

"Exactly! One minute Seema leaves, and then I turn around, and the kid's gone. The note we got earlier was gone too."

"…Did it ever occur to you that maybe he tried to follow the directions and go himself, Rozik?" Brom asked, with Rozik shrugging in reply. The bull sighed; the reason he himself had left was to see if anyone else had gotten such a note, and other information around it. Even if what he heard had been good (and it wasn't), he certainly wouldn't have sent out only Gary. The boy was still a newbie, and probably wouldn't understand what to do. What was he to do with that echidna…?

"I'm back!" The boys turned around to see Gary in the doorway, smiling. He looked a little worse for wear, and there was a small trail of blood behind him, seeming to come from three large cuts on his back.

"Gary, what did you-"

"I found the person who sent the letter, and she tried to beat me up. I think her name was Lash the Red Demoness or something…" Out of exhaustion, Gary collapsed to the floor. Brom quickly grabbed Orea, and the pair began to clean him up on the spot. Rozik watched silently.

"Red Demoness…hmm…"

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"So, let me get this straight," Lash said. It had taken her awhile, but she had managed to get a ride to Almarant in time for her interview. She had no idea why she had been summoned, only that it was guaranteed she could take out a large portion of Bounty Hunters. "If I work for you, and do as you say and stuff, I can destroy whoever and whatever I want, correct?"

"Correct." The voice was dark and icy, dark blue eyes meeting her black ones. "All I require is that you withhold nothing from me."

"I don't have anything to keep in the first place," Lash replied. "You have yourself a deal. She put out her hand, which was grasped by his. "You have yourself a new commander. What did you say your name was again, sir?" A hollow laugh sent a chill down the wolverine's spine, making her wonder what she had just agreed to.

"Mercy, demoness. I am Mercy."


	7. A Matter of Demonic Proportions

**Chapter 6: A Matter of Demonic Proportions**

** Author Note:...In case the Musings and Theories chapter was confusing, I realized this one wasn't posted...now I have them in order. This came first. Sorry. ;**

Brom paced around the base in silence; a habit of his that wasn't going to end anytime soon. The bull looked around the room at his comrades, who were all fast asleep. Orea had fallen asleep at her computer about an hour ago, having not slept for about a day or two. Darem was curled up in a corner, muttering about his boat as he slept. Then there was Gary, and though he was still recovering from his fight with Lash, he seemed just as hyper as normal. Rozik was probably home by now, and as for Seema…

"You wished to see me sir?" The oxen turned to see the assassin behind him even now, seeming small and delicate in the darkness.

"There is something I need to discuss with you," Brom stated. "I am aware of you operations with Prixtal up until this point. Have you relayed any information to them recently?" Her purple eyes darted around the room nervously.

"I was supposed to today, but my contact didn't arrive…"

"You haven't told them about Gary yet, have you?"

"No sir." Brom nodded at this.

"Good then. You are not to let them know anything about this, understood?" Alarm overtook her face.

"I understand sir, but if I don't tell them, and they find out-"

"They will not find out," Brom declared, "and no harm shall befall you. You know how much worse this all will get if Prixtal manages to get their hands on the echidna, do you not?" The ox began pacing again. "He doesn't know it, but this boy may be the key to bringing back the full power of the Maelstrom Crystals. He is one of the last true guardians." Seema raised an eyebrow.

"Sir, how do you know this?"

"I learned many things when I worked for the government myself." There was a moment of silence. "Now, I realize you must reveal most of what you find to Prixtal, whether you want to or not. I accept that, for I am not trying to take sides in this. However…" The leader's deep gray eyes shot into Seema's violet ones, sending a shiver down her spine. "It would be best if you kept some things a secret. Especially him. Understood?"

"…Understood sir." Seema stared at the concrete floor, the only noise in the room being Brom's footsteps and the light sound of their sleeping comrades.

"Remember that there is a mission tomorrow. I have a feeling it will be of the utmost importance. Until then, get some rest Seema." The bull waved his hand. "You may leave when you see fit."

"Thank you sir," The mantis replied quietly, and the next moment she was gone. Brom stood there in the middle of the room.

"There are some things better left unknown, I suppose…"

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"Hurry it up already Scaly. Shouldn't we be there by now?" That very sentence was the first one Gary awoke to that morning. Sitting up, the young echidna rubbed some of the sand from his eyes, and looked around. He seemed to be in the back of the assault vehicle that Orea and Brom had driven to save them from the Prixtal Attack last week. The truck/tank hybrid was called the All Purpose Assault Vehicle, or APAV for short.

Looking around, Gary saw that Rozik, Seema, and Darem were all with him. Darem seemed to be driving, Rozik riding shotgun, and Seema beside the echidna.

"You awake?" She asked. Gary nodded slowly.

"How'd I end up here?" He asked.

"Somehow you ended up sleepwalking into the trunk in the middle of the night. We were halfway to Nauticon already before Rozik found you in the back."

"Nauticon? Where's that?"

"A place we'd be by now if SOMEBODY could actually drive faster than forty miles an hour!" Rozik growled.

"I be going over forty," Darem replied. "I told ye', me ship's easier to drive than this hunk o' metal. I'd like to see ye' try." The dragon laughed. "Oh yeah, there's a rule against drunk driving."

"I'm not drunk at the moment!" The supposedly sober hedgehog retorted. "I don't even have a hangover! I've been sober for three days straight."

"Where are we going?" Gary asked, interrupting the argument. Rozik glared at him from the front.

"We already said it; Nauticon," He explained. "Somebody hired us to go exterminate a demon that's been causing havoc around here. Just a little one, but still a problem." Gary cocked his head to the side.

"What's a demon?"

"Oh god, you are so f-ing oblivious. A demon is a- Dammit Scaly, stop smoking that crap in my face! There's a window, you know! Use it!" Seema sighed as the duo began another argument over the cigarette Darem had started smoking. Seeing as they couldn't explain anything, she decided it was her job.

"A demon," She began, "Is a remarkably powerful beast. Certain people transform into them, and decimate everything in their paths. Most of the time, they have a special Daim Gem to suppress it, but when they don't…you'll see when we get there."

"Aye," Darem agreed from the front as a break from the argument. "Sad thing, this be the demon of but a wee little child. Not even full grown, and it be needing dead." Suddenly, a loud roar ripped through the air, as Gary looked out the window. There was a beast, about nine feet in height, ravaging through the small city. Its fur was a dull blue, covered in sharp, bone-like structures called mezate. Blood stains decorated the body like splotches of paint, and the remains of an arm lay at its spiked paws.

"That's a demon?!?" Gary exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's a demon." The APAV was parked out of sight behind some buildings, and the hunters got out. Gary's eyes widened: Even in this child demon, the beast's black eyes emanated a sense of pure malice and rage. A loud roar issued past the heavily fanged mouth, a howl of anger and agony.

"The weak spot is the back of the neck," Rozik explained. "Seema and Darem, you two go take it out from there, got it?" The pair nodded; it was easier for them since they both possessed wings.

"What do we do, then?" Gary asked.

"You and me are going to make sure it doesn't cause as much damage. Just distract it, and get a few hits in when you can." Didn't sound too hard. Of course, the young echidna never had fought a demon before. As he and his partner rushed out to go distract it, Gary got a pretty good glimpse at the mezate claws as he dodged a narrow blow to the head. Though they weren't too long, even someone as oblivious as him knew better than to get hit with those beauties.

"How could a little kid turn into something like this?" Gary asked. "Maybe we can help get it out of this thing."

"Unless we had a Daim Gem, I doubt we could." For some odd reason, the blue-furred horror was mainly targeting the snowy hunter. A sharp paw clashed against metal gauntlets, sending a few sparks into the air. Sensing an opening, the echidna struck at the exposed leg, the beast roaring at the pain in one of its main leg muscles. The body under the fur felt hard, almost like iron.

_"And this is a kid…"_ Gary thought. _"I wonder how powerful a grown-up demon would be…"_

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Meanwhile, Seema and Darem ran behind the beast. It was generally easiest, if one was trying to get atop a demon, to try climbing (or flying) near the exposed part of one of the back legs. Most people would think of the tail, but most demons had an extreme amount of mezate there, which was incredibly powerful. This particular one had a rather long tail, almost like a thick whip. Demons like these were typically some sort of cat.

"You first?" Seema offered. Darem shook his head

"Nay, ladies first," Nodding, the mantis quickly shot up, gracefully dodging the spikes of mezate upon its leg. Darem spread his wings out to follow, when something gripped the dragon's arm.

"Please, don't kill him." Darem turned to see a blue cat-woman behind him. "That boy is mine. I didn't know his father was a demon before he died…please; this child is all I have left. You can't kill my only child!" The lady's eyes watered with tears.

"I be sorry lass," the pirate replied, "But it's too late to save 'im now." The girl shook her head furiously, gripping tighter.

"Then tell everyone to stop! You can't just kill my little boy!" The cat tugged on his sleeve. "When he gets to normal, I'll get a Daim Gem to stop this from occurring again! If need be, I'll move away to a place he won't be able to harm anyone! I'll do anything, just please…save my child…" As sorry as Darem felt for the woman, what she was asking was something he couldn't do. It could be days before the boy returned to normal, and by then, Prixtal would hear of it and slaughter the child anyway. Softly, he removed her hand.

"I canna' lass. Sorry." Before she could say more, he quickly darted up onto the demon cat's back. Since it was a child, there wasn't as much mezate on the boy as adults had, though a hunter still had to be cautious. Even flying over it proved hazardous, for demons were known for suddenly jerking up in their rampage, accidentally (or purposefully, in smarter demon's cases) impaling a flying hunter from their kill.

_"Why in Hell's name did I ever agree to doing this?"_ He wondered. The beast jerked, and Darem gripped the beast's fur in order to stay on. Ahead of him, Seema was almost halfway to the demon's weak spot; an exposed area of flesh upon the creature's neck. The mantis looked like she could fall of anytime, like a leaf on the ground of a violent earthquake. With a quick spurt of speed, Darem closed the gap between them, almost falling off a few times.

"What took you?" The mantis asked questionably.

"Kid's mum. C'mon, let's make this quick."

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Down below, the catwoman's cries rang through the air as she begged for her son to be spared. It reached the beast's ears, averting its attention temporarily from its current prey. Turning about, a mezate clad claw was thrust at her, hurling her aside into a nearby brick wall. The fragile body hit with a solid thud, slipping to the ground.

"No…this can't be you," she muttered quietly, blood seeping out of a wound aside her head. "My little boy…would never…" Sensing she wasn't dead yet, the demon child came forward, smelling the scent of fresh blood. The mother's eyes, a dimming gold, gazed on into darkness.

"How was I to know?" The beast's head came forward, but whether it had realized what had happened, or he was just going to eat the bloody flesh, she was never to know. With a mighty blow, Gary and Rozik managed to avert the creature's plan. Growling, the beast resumed its assault on Rozik, while the echidna ducked over to check on the cat.

"That wound looks pretty bad," he exclaimed. "We better get you to a hospital, miss." The dull gold eyes stared back at him.

"No." She sighed. "My boy must come with me. My little boy…I can't leave him alone. Not without a mother or father…my poor little boy…"

"He's going to try and kill you again!" Gary declared, shaking his head. "Come on, I'll get you to a doctor."

"My child…" Before either could say anymore, a scream shot through the air. It came from behind them, where the demon had finally gotten a hit on Rozik, sending the white hunter plummeting to the ground, fresh blood seeping from his arm that had been wounded only a week before. On the beast's back, Seema and Darem were almost to the neck, and a few small flames were alight in the blue fur.

"_I can't just leave her here,"_ Gary thought, _"But if I don't help out, the others could be seriously hurt."_

"_**Someone's going to die anyway,"**_ Muttered a voice in his head. _**"Help the others; this lady doesn't wish to be saved anyway."**_ Saving questions for later, Gary rushed over to the fight, fists immediately punching the demon before it could swipe again at the echidna's partner. A loud howl sounded once more, and was it just him, or was a young boy's scream mixed into the cry as well?

Fortunately, the reason for the roar was a good thing: a large wound in the back that was burning signified that the mantis and dragon duo had managed to attack at the weakest point.

"_**Not done yet,"**_ came the voice again. _**"Do you remember…?"**_ Reflecting on it later, Gary realized it was a voice he had heard once before, when he escaped Prixtal Prison. Now, however, he just said the next thing that came to mind.

"…Maelstrom Lance!" Somehow, a bright light began to shine. A pair of eyes, one violet and one blue, glowed a silvery green, staring at the beast. Right there, where the heart would be. In front of the echidna formed what seemed like a shining blade of energy, suddenly piercing forward past the flesh, and into the heart. With a mighty scream, followed by a last weak cry, the demon crumpled to the ground.

"What the bloody hell?" Rozik, who had seen the whole thing, looked over at Gary. The young echidna's eyes reverted to normal, and he began to fall to the ground before his partner caught him.

"What'd you just do?" The white hunter asked.

"…I don't know…" And with that, Gary fell unconscious. Seema and Darem came up behind him, looking confused.

"What was that about?" Darem asked. "I mean, how did he-"

"I think it's like that Chaos Control ability Brom mentioned," Seema explained. "Either way, we should get out of here. Prixtal's likely to show up to investigate, and the last thing we want is for them to find Gary." They agreed, and began to drag the echidna to the APAV.

"Where is he?" The trio turned to see the cat woman, who had miraculously managed to get up. Crimson liquid seeped down her body, and the skin underneath her fur was pale enough to make her look dead already.

"Where is who?"

"My boy…" The cat looked at all the hunters. "Why did you? You killed my little child…he was all I had left, you know? How am I supposed to live when the only things good in my life are gone? He…could have been spared…kept alive…my sweet, innocent little boy…" She hacked a bit of blood up, still muttering about her dead demon child.

"She's obsessed," Seema mumbled, looking away. "Come on, we should get moving."

"One minute," Rozik said, handing the echidna over to Darem for a second. The white hedgehog walked over to the woman, clawed gauntlets on his hand, and quickly thrust the blade through her chest. A look of shock came upon her face, before landing against the ground.

"Why'd you do that?" The mantis asked.

"Heck, she's going to die anyway, so why make her suffer more? All she'd do is babble on about her kid, anyway." Rozik shrugged as he said this, taking Gary back. "No offense, but I don't know if I could handle another minute of it anyway."

A few minutes later, the APAV drove in silence away from the town of Nauticon. Everything was silent, save for a soft moan every now and then as Gary mumbled something in his forced-upon sleep…

"_**The Sky is but a servant to the Maelstrom… and it is tied to the Master…"**_


	8. Musings and Theories

**Chapter 7: Musings and Theories**

_In his state of sleep, most of the time, there was darkness. Once, however, Gary seemed to be dreaming. In his dream, he was back on the island of echidnas, watching himself as a boy. The younger him was sitting on someone's lap, gazing expectantly at a face that seemed to elude him._

_"Are you going to tell me another story today?" The mini-Gary asked. Somehow, he could tell the figure shook his head._

_**"Do you remember the duty I told you of…?"**__ It was the voice he heard before, when fighting the demon._

_"I remember. The duty of guarding the Lord Maelstrom Crystal." The young boy tugged on the elder's dreadlock. "Father, why do we need to guard it?" Father? What was that?_

_**"The Lord Maelstrom Crystal keeps our island safe from the intruders and evils of the earth below. It keeps the balance of our planet together, with just enough disorder so that life is kept…interesting, I suppose you could say." **__The figure chuckled. __**"And you…are next in line."**__ A name had been said, though he couldn't make it out. Was it his real name, Gary wondered? Did he have a real name?_

_"But Dad, I thought that someone else was before me."_

_**"Those are the hopes of the artificials."**_

_"Artificials?"_

_**"Those that were created by the evils down below, and thrust upon our island."**__ A low sigh reached his ears. __**"I believe we can establish peace with them one day…but even then, they can never posses the power to protect the Lord."**__ The younger Gary began swinging his legs over the elder echidna's knees. The boy's mismatched eyes followed a small bug._

_"What happens if someone manages to hurt the Lord?" There was a pause._

_**"As long as the true guardians remain, my boy, it shall never come to that. Remember…you are one of the last true heirs…"**__ The hazy vision faded back into the darkness, and the sleep continued…_

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Gary awoke from his confusing sleep a good while later. He was back at the base, on the small bunk Orea usually slept on. Pushing away some blankets, the echidna stood up, stretching a bit. His head felt a bit funny, but fine otherwise.

"Darn, you sure sleep awhile." Gary looked over to see Orea nearby, her eyes still glued to the computer screen. "I swear, my ears are, like, still ringing from Rozik trying to wake you up. You alright?"

"Yep!" The echidna looked over at the screen. "Just wondering, but did you…find anything out about the Maelstrom Crystals yet?"

"Mmmhmm." There was a silence, excluding the clacking of keys as the rabbit's fingers dashed to each one. "Oh, yeah, I'd better read it to you. I'll, like, translate it so you can understand." Turning to a second computer (how many of those did she have?) she pulled up a file. Various pieces of copy-and-pasted text were scattered throughout the page.

"Now, this is all just legends and hearsay," Orea explained, "but this is, like, what I was able to find. According to legend, the Maelstrom Crystals are a collection of extremely powerful gems, which contain some sort of energy like the Chaos abilities. Most of the files say there's only six, though there is, like, some rumor of a seventh one." Gary nodded.

"Did it say anything about a Lord Maelstrom Crystal?" Orea shot him a confused look.

"Like, it did, actually. One sec." She scrolled down on the computer. "The Lord Maelstrom Crystal is somehow connected to the other six (or seven), and is much more powerful. It's said to reside on a mysterious island in the sky. But no one, like, knows where it is, because the crystal's energy is always warping it between the planetary space, so it never stays in one place for long." There was a pause. "It also says…that the island was guarded by the original echidnas. Maybe that's why you, like, are so interested in this stuff."

"Is that it?" Gary pointed to some more stuff on the screen. "It looks like there's more."

"That's just extras: random facts, miscellaneous information, and the like. There's a bit about demons supposedly being connected too. What a coincidence; you guys just, like, fought one, right?" After his dream, Gary had almost forgotten about the fight earlier in the first place, and why he blacked out.

"Oh yeah…thanks Orea," He said, an airy tone in his voice. For once, Orea turned away from the screen, her rabbit ears perked up.

"Something wrong?"

"…I just had a weird thoughts, that's all…look, I'm going to go for a walk." The rabbit watched her friend walk away, wondering what had caused the sudden change. She found it odd; sometimes it was like there was a second side to him somewhere…

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Elsewhere in the base, yet another argument was unfolding. It was one that had occurred multiple times, and never with an actual resolution.

"Seema, if I've told you once, I've told you about one million f-cking times," Rozik snarled. "I am NOT a demon, dammit!" Seema regarded the fuming hedgehog with a sideways glance.

"You have all the qualities of one," She replied coldly. "Your eyes give it away; everyone knows demons have black eyes. And if you aren't…then why do you wear that?" The mantis pointed to a small necklace that was fastened around the hedgehog's neck. It was often hard to make it out, and even harder to see the small gray crystal that dangled from it.

"It's just a necklace," Rozik muttered.

"No, that's a Daim Gem if I ever saw one."

"Well, it isn't!" The white hedgehog threw a punch at the girl, who smoothly dodged the blow.

"Demons are aggressive too, you know." The mantis sighed. "Look, it's obvious that you, Rozik, are a demon."

"I am not! How many fricken times do I have to tell you that?" Seema raised an eyebrow.

"You so sure?" the mantis asked warily. "Then loosen your necklace. If you aren't a demon, nothing will happen. And if you are…well, if it's just a little loose, it shouldn't be too hard to get it back on you." The hedgehog unconsciously began to finger the small crystal in agitation.

"I know I'm not, and that is good enough for me, alright?" Fuming, the snowy hunter began to walk off. Seema looked away.

"…I just don't want it to come back to haunt us later," She muttered. There was a small chuckle from Rozik.

"Well, if it does come back to bite us all in the ass," He decided, "I'll make sure to bite yours first, bug girl." Seema gaped at him.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" She cried. The white hedgehog smirked as he sauntered off. The mantis behind him just stared.

"What was that about Seema?" Seema turned to see Gary next to her, almost making her jump.

"When did you get here?" She asked. Gary shrugged.

"Just now, I guess." The echidna was given an odd look, before Seema decided it was useless to try to understand the boy. After a brief goodbye, the mantis left, leaving a confused little echidna behind.

"…Women seem really hard to understand…" He supposed. Without much else to do now, the echidna wandered off again.

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After a bit of wandering close to the base, Gary saw a bit of smoke. Getting a little closer, he saw it was just Darem smoking a cigarette. The dragon noticed the arrival, casting him a glance.

"Something on yer mind?" He asked. Gary shrugged.

"I suppose." The echidna sat down. "I dunno…I just think there's something about those Maelstrom Crystals. And…well, I think I'm forgetting something."

"A verra important something, aye?"

"I guess." Gary cast the dragon a look. "Say, what did happen to the other dragons?" Mismatched eyes watched as the pirate blew a few smoke rings.

"Ye ken, not many people ask me that," Darem admitted **(AN: ken means know)**. "It's a little fuzzy in me' mind, tell ye the truth. Well, it happened a few years ago…" From what Darem explained, his clan of dragons traveled to the Echidna's Isle once every twenty years. As they were preparing to leave, the clan had been assaulted by Prixtal, and were going to be forced to reveal how to get to the isle. However, most of the dragons fought back instead, and were killed.

"I managed to escape," Darem explained, "So I be flying to a hiding place to wait for the others. None of them showed up; probably flew elsewhere. I be trying to find them for…what, five or six years now?" The pirate sighed. "I would guess they flew off to the floating isle, but since it was my first trip, I havna an idea on how to get there."

"Think any of the other dragons would know how?" Gary asked. Darem thought a minute, a few more smoke rings floating lazily into the sky.

"Unless they be my age or younger, I think so." The echidna nodded.

"Alright. So, are dragons and demons connected to the crystals?" Darem suddenly started laughing.

"Aye, ye ask more questions than a wee toddler. Tell ye the truth, I think there may be. I just never got to learning, so I don't ken."

"Oh." There was an uneasy stillness. "Well, thanks." Without another word, Gary walked off again, suddenly silent.

_"I don't know what the deal is…but something's up. I just have to figure out what my connection to these things is."_


	9. Alleyway Assailant

**Chapter 8: Alleyway Assailant**

Gary continued his walk in silence, confused thoughts in his head. What was up with the voice in his head? What was he trying to remember? How the heck had he ended up at Prixtal Prison in the first place? His head was starting to ache from all the thinking…

"I knew I'd find you near here." Looking up, Gary stared into the face of Brom. The ebony bull loomed over him, a large case strapped to his back. "What are you doing here alone, echidna?"

"I dunno," Gary replied with a shrug. "I was thinking, but now my head hurts. Can your head hurt from thinking too much?" The bull chuckled in amusement.

"Many times, Gary." The ox turned around. "Maybe I can answer some of your questions. If you would be so kind as to follow me…" With nothing better to do, and deciding there wouldn't be anything good out of leaving, Gary followed his leader. The pair passed back into the Abandoned District, with not a soul around. Brom said it was to make sure that certain ears did not hear them.

"So what exactly is bothering you?" Gary shrugged, not wanting to think much more on it.

"Well, I just have this feeling…I'm forgetting something really, really important. It has to do with a Maelstrom Crystal, but that's all I know." The echidna looked up at his leader to see if he had an answer. The ox was silent, musing over something.

"…It may be as I feared. Gary, you know I once was a guard for Prixtal. Am I correct in presuming this?" He was answered with a nod. "Good. You see, during my time as a guard there, I learned some things about the projects that took place there. My knowledge barely scratched the surface of their works, but I believe it still is of use."

"Does it have anything to do with me?" Gary asked. The bull nodded.

"You see Gary-" He was suddenly cut off as something flew through the air, barely missing their heads. Out of the corner of his eyes, the young echidna could tell it was a dagger. Turning around, he saw the assailant. It was a wolf, dark gray fur matted with dirt and blood. Covering him was a large trench coat with pockets all over it, probably concealing more weapons. There was a maniacal look in his eyes, which were the deepest red Gary had ever seen.

"Kecht," Brom breathed. "You were presumed to have died in the gang fight." The wolf shook his head, pulling out four more daggers out of his coat; two daggers in each hand. A fight was about to begin.

"Ah, Brom," The wolf hissed, his voice a rasp. "It isn't that easy to get rid of the Kecht, now is it?" Crimson eyes regarded the echidna. "So, you've rounded up another member. When will you learn this is all futile?" Kecht spat on the ground.

"Brom, who is this?" Gary asked.

"Kecht. He's a rival bounty hunter leader that was presumed dead after our last encounter. Step aside Gary; this is not your battle." Using one hand to push the echidna away, the oxen opened the case with the other. Inside was a Warhammer: think hammer, only much, much bigger. The leader wielded it without flaw using only one hand, despite the fact that it was intended for both hands. The wolf smirked as he watched, crouching low to the ground.

_"So there are other Bounty Hunters,"_ Gary realized. Sure, the others had mentioned other groups, but the newbie hadn't been with the gang long enough to see one. It was remarkable how different Kecht and Brom were. The two charged at each other; Brom, while slower than the wolf, made up for it with much more brute strength. The assailant was caught on the end of the warhammer, swung around into the wall. Instead of crashing into it, however, Kecht rebounded off of the impact, charging into Brom with all four daggers out. The weapons were only able to leave traces of blood as the oxen used his free hand to pry away the wolf, toss him off, and smack him in mid-air with the warhammer. The body fell with a thud, the maniacal grin still on the assailant's face as he stood up again.

"It doesn't matter anymore Brom," Kecht hissed. "Kecht has found a new master…a new line of work much more satisfying than mere Bounty Hunting." The bull watched him with cautious eyes; it was hard to tell if Kecht was just going to talk, or start fighting again.

"Something more than murder?" Brom asked. The wolf nodded.

"Conquest. Kecht gets to chase anyone and everyone Kecht wishes. Go anywhere, and nothing can stop Kecht." Kecht's red eyes widened as he continued. "Kecht is part of those who will bring about a new era, Brom. Kecht's master tells Kecht it is an era of chaos; an era where only we shall survive. All who do not follow us shall not be spared." Gary watched, confused as ever, while his leader nodded, taking it in.

"…And who may your master be, Kecht?"

"His name…" The wolf laughed a cold raspy laugh. "He calls himself Mercy." Brom's eyes widened, and Gary completely froze.

_Mercy? I've heard that name before. I __know__ that name._

_Mercy…to rescue from a horrible fate. Compassion. How do I know that?_

"Still in power then, is he?" The oxen asked. He wanted the assailant to continue; there was a chance to learn something more.

"Of course he is," Kecht replied, "and he won't stop soon. He is searching for someone…the one person he really needed has escaped, he says. The one person he needs to regain control of the Seraph Isle." This name also rang a bell in Gary's mind. Was this the island the Lord Maelstrom Crystal was on?

"I see," Brom continued. "…You know Kecht, I am curious about this whole plan…you wouldn't happen to know more, would you?" Catching on, the assailant growled.

"Kecht isn't going to just tell you, fool." He hissed. "If you really want to know, then you'll have to get into the Resna in five day's time. Of course, there's no way you can-"

"I believe that's enough for now." The warhammer was suddenly smashed into the wolf's head, knocking him to the ground. Brom nodded to himself, and turned to Gary.

"Are you at all damaged Gary?" The echidna shook his head.

"What's the Resna?" he asked.

"It's a gathering of all the current world leaders. I imagine that Mercy is going to try and sway them to his side again. It happens every year…however, this year, we can do something about it." Walking over to the fallen body, Brom reached into the trench coat, pulling out a small map.

"With this, we can find where it's located, and sneak in. Maybe we can finally figure out Prixtal's plan." The bull's eyes lingered on the wolf for a bit. "I never would have imagined you would turn to them Kecht…if someone that was once as strong as you could be swayed into this cause, then whatever their methods of persuasion are must be the equivalent of torture...or maybe that's exactly what they do."

"Brom?" Gary piped up. "Before that guy attacked…you said you knew something about me and those projects. Could you tell me now?"

"Yes." The pair began to walk out of the abandoned district as Brom explained. "You see, Prixtal has been tampering in the science of artificial life for years. Most of their work has been centered on the legends of the Maelstrom Crystals and Seraph Isle, the island that warps the Lord Crystal throughout the sky, as they say. Their leader, Mercy, wishes to secure this power for his own uses…" Both pairs of eyes glanced at the sky, as a Prixtal Military helicopter flew overhead toward a nearby district.

"These creations…a lot of them were echidnas, you know." Gary's eyes widened.

"Really? Does that mean I'm one?"

"…It may be a possibility. However, most of Prixtal's attempts at life are a failure. Any that do survive will never be equal to true life. I can only think of a few exceptions that can even match, much less surpass, a normal person. You have more power than most. Either you are one of those few exceptions, or you are alive like the rest of us. No need to worry; the second one is far more likely."

"Thanks," Gary said. "That's a relief." There was a pause. "Want to race back to the base?"

"Maybe another time," the ox replied. "Maybe another time…"

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"Kecht has failed Mercy," the wolf whimpered. After waking back up, the assailant had made his way back to Almarant. At the moment, he was waiting with one of the other new commanders, Lash.

"Stop whining," The wolverine growled. "You sniveling dog. If you actually had a life, maybe you could have done something. Stupid hunters can't be trusted." She turned toward a window, black eyes staring at the cloudy sky.

"Kecht was not always like this," He declared. "Something about Kecht is changing…but Kecht does not care. Kecht just wants to kill. Kill."

"I get the picture," Lash replied. "How about you stop referring to yourself in third person while you're at it?"

_I can't help but wonder what Mercy is planning to do with us,_ The beast wondered. _Oh well, it doesn't matter. As long as I can get revenge on all those stupid hunters, I'm set. Those hunters are all like Kecht here. They only want to kill, no matter who it is._

"I must destroy them all." Lash murmured.

"What did you say?" Both Lash and Kecht turned their heads to see Mercy standing in the shadows behind them. All that could be seen was his blue faded eyes.

"Nothing sir," The wolverine spat. "So, what's the plan?"

"We will be having some infiltrators during Resna. You and Kecht will keep an eye out. Keep your eyes on everyone; leave no one overlooked. If you find someone who may be useful, drug them with these discreetly, and take them to the 'infirmary' when they faint, which will in fact be the transport tanks." A gloved hand came out of the shadows, handing each of them a medium-sized vile of a bluish-violet liquid.

"Is this…Arkenic?" Lash asked, appalled. "I thought this was for the soldiers only."

"In this case, it is a sedative among all else. Not enough to cause any permanent effects. Am I clear with my instructions?" Both commanders nodded.

"Don't worry sir," the wolf rasped, fingering a dagger. "Kecht and Lash will not fail you."


	10. Resna Lights

**Chapter 9: Resna Lights**

Five days later, Gary looked around the base, dressed uncomfortably in a tuxedo. Resna was tonight; the gathering of world leaders to meet about current situations. Of course, the rich and wealthy were allowed in too. The plan was that the gang would sneak in, blend in with the crowd, and hear what Mercy would say.

It still bothered Gary a little about Mercy…he was almost certain he had heard the name before. But where? He wasn't sure…but now was not the time to think about it.

"Why do we have to wear these things again?" The echidna asked a certain white hedgehog. "I don't like wearing shirts like this."

"It's because those stupid fancy-pants wear these kind of clothes. Trust me, I hate wearing these too. My pants feel like they're climbing right up my-"

"Where'd you get it if you aren't rich?" Gary interrupted. Rozik smirked.

"Tell you the truth, Al'catraz stole it for me a few years back. It's a little small, but hey, it works. At least I don't have one of the girls on my tail…" That last part was a good thing, Gary decided. Seema was in another room getting her dress on, and Orea was currently attempting to give Darem a haircut…which wasn't going so well.

"I don't, like, care what you are," She growled, scissors in her hand. "You are so not going to Resna with a mullet! It looks so, like, undefined."

"If I care, ye'll be the first to ken Orea," the dragon replied hastily, trying to escape the rabid rabbit. Despite her dress and high heels (both of which were a lovely shade of pink), she was still chasing him like a desperate stalker.

"Get your scaly arse over here!" With a desperate leap, the bunny girl jumped onto Darem's back, and thrust the scissors into his messy bush of hair…just to have the clippers collide with one of his horns and break. The rabbit fell of, and Darem flew up into the rafters, where he hid for awhile. Rozik snickered at the sight.

"Now that is priceless." Instantly, Orea was in front of him, holding the broken scissors menacingly.

"You're next if you don't, like, straighten that tie," She fumed. "I mean, like, look at you! I can see your ankles because your pants aren't, like, long enough."

"…It's not like anyone's going to purposely look at my ankles…" Rozik grumbled, adjusting his tie. Gary watched, confused.

"Why don't girls wear tuxedos too?"

"Because dresses look much prettier," Orea explained, "and, like, that's how things have been for years."

"Then why don't guys wear dresses?"

"…Because…they…don't." The rabbit finished bleakly.

"Some guys wear kilts instead," Rozik added. "They usually have a funny accent like our dragon pal up there…say Scaley, why don't you wear a kilt?" A few sparks of fire fell to the ground, making the white hunter jump.

"Just because me accent sounds a wee bit off doesna mean I be wearing a man-skirt, hedgehog. How would ye' like to try one?" Another argument unfolded, and Gary was stuck wondering what exactly a kilt was in the first place. Luckily enough, the others arrived shortly, and within a few hours, they were off to Resna. It was going to be a long night…

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The place was packed, needless to say. Gary had never seen so many people enjoying themselves at one time. All the different types of clothes were strange too.

"Now remember," Brom whispered to the gang as they entered, "We are to stick together. Orea, you stay with Gary. Seema, you have Rozik. Darem, you come with me. Everyone clear?" The rest of the hunters nodded, and soon walked off in the aforementioned pairs.

"Don't worry," Orea said to the echidna as they walked away. "There are a few other echidnas here, so like, I don't think anyone will figure out who you are." Gary nodded at this; they better not notice. The rabbit beside him had already messed with his looks beforehand. She had even covered up the tattoo on his cheek. There was no difference between him and the other echidnas here. Not enough to make a difference.

"Ooh, look! There's a dance over there! Like, come on Gary, it'll be fun!" Before he could protest, the rabbit dragged him off to a dance court, where he would get a crash-course in dancing.

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It wasn't an understatement to say that Brom and Darem were subject to many stares that night. Brom because of his size, and Darem because no one had really seen a dragon before. True, his wings were hidden uncomfortably under the tuxedo, but that wouldn't have made much difference.

"So where be this Mercy person?" The dragon asked. "I'd like to get this over quickly, if possible."

"He should be appearing soon," Brom replied. His eyes passed over to where the various guards where stationed, remembering when he was amongst their ranks. Out of the corner of his gray eyes, he noticed two figures: a wolf and a wolverine.

"Kecht does not like wearing tuxedos," grumbled the wolf. "It doesn't have pockets for Kecht to hide his babies."

"You mean your daggers by that, right?" asked the wolverine, which was none other than Lash dressed in a light yellow dress.

"Yes. Kecht's daggers are his babies."

"Freak. And stop talking to yourself in third person! You're going to attract unwanted attention." The duo continued to walk away, and Brom was unable to hear the rest of their conversation.

"Odd," Brom muttered. "Commanders usually don't appear at Resna. It makes me wonder if Mercy's plans involve tonight." Beside him, Darem shrugged. He was too busy noticing all the stares he himself was getting.

"Not like I be the only dragon around here," he thought. "They be staring like I'm some kinda' wild animal. Stupid aristocrats."

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"I'm telling you Seema, there's nothing wrong with free alcohol." This was said at the other end of the room, where Rozik and Seema were currently stationed. The white hedgehog was currently holding a glass of wine, and Seema was chiding him about it.

"We don't need you being drunk on this mission!" the mantis hissed. "Put the drink back."

"Sorry, but no," Rozik replied, taking a sip. "Bleh, I hate this fancy stuff. But a drink's a drink." He looked over at one of the many serving girls scattered around the room. "Hey, got any more of those?"

"You're hopeless," Seema muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lash. "…I'll be back in a minute. Try not to do anything stupid." With that, the mantis walked off, while Rozik tried to flag down a serving girl. He finally caught one after a few minutes.

"Excuse me, but do ya' happen to have any more drinks on you?"

"You know, you really shouldn't be doing that." The waitress turned around, revealing the face of a certain gothic bat.

"Al'catraz? What the hell are you doing here?" Rozik asked.

"To make sure you didn't get in trouble tonight, fuzzhead. Isn't that right Suzy?" Beside the bat, the hedge-girl nodded.

"You…brought Suzy to a place like this?" The white hunter growled. "What's the big deal?"

"Well I certainly couldn't just leave her at home," the bat replied. "Of course, if you prefer the chance that some lowlife finds her and decides to use her for something, be my guest."

"Awen't you happy to see me bwother?" Suzy asked. Rozik rolled his eyes.

"I suppose…you really didn't need to come."

"We'll see about that soon enough," Al'catraz replied. "Something bad is going to happen tonight, and you guy's will need all the help you can get." Unfortunately, Al'catraz's sixth sense about these kinds of things was rather accurate. Rozik knew this, and he had a feeling his night was about to get a whole lot worse.

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"I told you it'd be fun." Orea and Gary were sitting down now after their dance.

"I guess it was," the echidna replied. "Sorry for stepping on your feet." The rabbit shrugged it off. There were a few more minutes of talking, when a platform began to rise in the middle of the room. The aristocrats and leaders gathered around it (Gary even thought he saw Brom and Darem somewhere in the crowd), and a small man walked onto the stage.

"If I may have your attention please," he said. "I am certain you all came here tonight to hear out the words of our country's leader." The crowed agreed in unison. "Then without further ado, our leader, Mercy." The man walked off the platform, and another figure ascended onto the platform. Gary's eyes widened.

Mercy was, oddly enough, an echidna like him. His fur was a bright gold color, and his quills hung down over his face. He was dressed in the outfit most leaders of Prixtal wore; a turquoise and red (the country's colors) overcoat that ended past the knees, and a pair of military-standard boots. A series of chains were interconnected about the body, eventually meeting up with the right arm, which was actually a collection of chains with blades on the end, commonly called kararigamas. A duo of eyes watched the crowd, their color fading from black to blue, and back to black.

"It is a pleasure to see you all here tonight," The voice was cold and unfeeling, making the words he just said void. "I am known as Mercy, and I have taken reign over Prixtal after our old leader was murdered…tragic, I know." Mutters sprang up, but were soon silenced.

"As you all know, most of our planet's power is running dry. Magic is beginning to dry and wither away, the demons are becoming stronger, and I am certain all of the countries represented here tonight have been subject to natural disasters, more so than the last few years, correct?" No one in the crowd disagreed.

"Do you have a solution for this?" asked a desert coyote. Mercy nodded, icy eyes scanning the crowd.

"Has anyone heard of the Maelstrom Crystals?" He asked. "Seven powerful gems, all controlled by one Lord Maelstrom Crystal on the Seraph's Isle. It is said limitless power is bestowed upon whosoever possesses all seven crystals…the power of miracles or condemnation." From his spot in the crowd, a chill went down Gary's spine.

"Fellow leaders," The Prixtal Leader commanded, "These Maelstrom Crystals are our only hope. They only thing that stands in our way is the Lord Maelstrom Crystal. The Lord is the only thing that can nullify the emeralds. The Guardians do not want us to unleash the power of the remaining seven, even though it is only to benefit our world, and restore it to how it once was."

"So your plan," another leader said, "is to find all these crystals, and destroy the Lord Crystal and it's Guardians, correct?" There was a moment of silence, marked only by the sinister grin upon the gold echidna's face.

"Exactly so." Icy blue eyes scanned the horde of leaders and nobles. "Now, who is with me?" For the record, most of them cheered with agreement.

"This isn't good," Orea whispered to Gary. "Like, just think about what that freak could do with the crystals!"

"…If everything's so bad, why didn't the Guardians help?" Gary asked. "Wouldn't there be a reason if they didn't?" Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out of the shadows, gripping them by the mouths to muffle their startled screams.

"Damned if you'll find out," Lash muttered from behind them. Holding them both tightly, she nodded to Kecht, who stood beside her with a sharp needle full of bluish-violet liquid. Arkenic.

"Kecht thought we were supposed to be discreet," the wolf complained as he injected the Arkenic into Orea.

"This is discreet enough," Lash barked. "Everyone else is paying attention to Mercy." Kecht nodded, injecting Gary now. Both figures slumped to the floor, soon picked up by guards.

"Pretty good for a freak," the wolverine said with a nod to Kecht. "I'm sure the others have been drugged by now as well. Come on, let's get a move on before our leader up there shuts up." The wolf nodded, his bloody eyes gleaming.

"Kecht agrees! Kecht agrees!" He replied happily. "Though Kecht is not sure about the bug girl doing her job right." The pair walked out, and Lash laughed.

"You mean Seema? Don't worry Kecht…with the consequences she's been given, there's no way she'll fail us now."


	11. Explanations

**Chapter 10: Explanations**

It was cold. Cold and dark. Gary's eyes blinked open, surveying the room. He was in a cell, shackled to the wall. The bars and floor were connected to a high voltage wire system: Anything touching it would suffer sever electrocution. To top it off, Mercy was right outside the cell, watching him.

"It didn't take you as long to wake as I suspected," He noted. "It's surprisingly easy to underestimate you. A fault on my part, perhaps." Gary didn't really understand what he meant by that. In truth, he was actually rather frightened; the Prixtal Leader was rather intimidating in person.

"What are you going to do with me?" he asked. A grin came upon Mercy's face; another one that sent a shiver down the captive's spine.

"It depends on your cooperation," he replied. "Are you aware of exactly who you are?"

"I don't think so." Maybe he could finally find out what he was supposed to remember! "Do you know?"

"Indeed I do." Mercy paced in front of the bars, his chain arm writhing around, almost as if they were alive. "You see, the old leader of Prixtal was a fool. He merely wanted power, and believed he could simply take over Seraph Island by surprise. To do so, he created an army of artificial echidnas to try and overtake the isle. There was a large battle, needless to say, and many were killed. However, many were created afterward from the DNA taken from some of the 'real' echidnas killed." A hollow laugh interrupted the speech. "I am one of these, Gary, the strongest created. And after me…there was you."

Gary's eyes widened. "I…I'm a fake too?"

"Not a fake. We are alive, aren't we?" Mercy explained. "The reason you were locked away was so I could keep an eye on you, and your powers wouldn't awaken before it was time. However, the issue cannot be ignored any longer." The chilling replica walked up to the bars, letting his chained arm past the electric bars, reaching Gary.

"If we are ever to restore our world, we must first get the Lord Maelstrom Crystal out of the way. I cannot do this alone, but with the both of us…together Gary, we can recreate this world into its true glory." Gary remembered that this was what he spoke of at Resna; fixing the world. Still, something seemed off about this.

_**"Do not trust him,"**_ It was that voice; the one he heard before, the last time being his dream. _**"You are not a fake…you belong to the island. You cannot betray your people."**_

"Do you accept?" Mercy asked, snapping Gary out of his thoughts. The captive boy was silent.

"I…I'll think about it," he replied. Mercy nodded.

"Good enough for now." The chains backed away. "I shall give you time to think about it, then. I must be off now; there is much to do still. I would prefer an answer by tomorrow. Good night, Gary." The leader walked away, leaving the captive alone.

_"One day…that's all I have. Unless I find a way out, I'll have to answer to him…what should I do?"_

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Al'catraz certainly didn't remember falling asleep inside of a dank cell. It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the low lighting of the place-she was a bat, after all- and took a look around. They were in a holding cell: Her, the bull, dragon, rabbit, and a very angry Rozik. Hold on-where were Suzy and the echidna?

"You, like, woke up finally!" the rabbit said, being the only one to notice. "You okay?"

"I'm alright." Al'catraz looked at the rabbit girl, trying to remember her name. "You're Orea, correct?"

"You've heard of me?" Orea asked, taken aback. The bat nodded.

"Rozik's mentioned you guys." She looked over at her hedgehog friend, who was in the middle of screaming vehemently.

"-and that b-tch of a mantis turns her back on us, drugs us asleep, and gives us up to Prixtal! The rotten little whore! Not only that, but they ran off with not only that stupid partner of mine, but my sister! These f-cking a--holes are going to hell when I'm through with them! Stupid! F-cking! TRAITOROUS! BACKSTABBING! B-TCH!!!" As he said this, the white hunter threw punch after punch at the bars, trying to break them, with no avail. That, of course, just made him angrier.

"Calm down Rozik," Brom ordered, grabbing the hedgehog by the collar of his jacket. "Screaming is not going to get us anywhere."

"That does not change the fact that she's a f-cking little-"

"Did you not hear what I just said?" The bull growled. "…I should have suspected this would happen eventually, but it is too late to dwell on the fact now. What we need to do is figure out a way to escape, and then we shall rescue Gary and your sister." The others nodded, and Rozik mumbled an agreement.

"So," Darem spoke up, "Anyone got a plan?" There was a minute of silence. Al'catraz looked over at the bars, and found where the key to the cell would go. But how to fix that?

"Aha, I think I got it," the bat said. She turned to Orea. "Say, you're the mechanic, right? Do you happen to have anything small and flat with you?" The rabbit shrugged.

"Well, I didn't grab anything since I, like, didn't think anything would happen at Resna…hold on a sec." The rabbit pulled out a small purse (she brought it because it matched her dress), and pulled out a small file. "How's this?"

"Perfect," Al'catraz replied, taking the file. She then turned to Darem. "You can breather fire, right?"

"Right as rain."

"Good. Try heating this up, just enough so that it's glowing an orangish yellow color." The dragon did so, and the small file was burning hot (though she could still hold it at the end). It wasn't exactly melting, but it was somewhat soft. Perfect for what Al'catraz had in mind. Walking over to the keyhole, she jammed the file partway in. Since it was just hot enough that it didn't have a completely solid form, the file molded partially into the shape the key would need to be in. After keeping it in for a few minutes, the bat turned the file-key, and the door unlocked.

"I thought that would work," Al'catraz said with a smirk, looking over at the others. The bat always had been good at thinking on her feet.

"I must say, very resourceful." Brom acknowledged. "Now, it seems there are two doors out of this room. Since we were unconscious when they brought us in here, there is no way of telling which door leads to the exit. That, and we still have to recover Gary and…Suzy, was the girl's name? Either way, we should split into two groups. Orea, you come with me. Rozik, Darem, and…"

"Al'catraz."

"Yes, Al'catraz, you three take the other door. We unfortunately do not have com-links at the moment, so you'll have to fend for yourselves. Are we clear?"

"Doesn't matter; I'm getting the hell out of here," Rozik growled. He practically threw the door of its hinges as he ran out, with Al'catraz and Darem following behind.

"Do you, like, think they'll be alright?" Orea asked.

"We can only hope, Orea. Come on, we have to leave."

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Rozik ran off rather fast, feeling much too angry to care about sticking with the others. It was pure luck that most of the guards were still at Resna, or else he probably would have been swarmed by now. The only real noise in the hall was the stomping of his boots when his feet touched the ground, trying to figure out where he was going.

The white hunter suddenly crashed into someone, hurtling onto the ground. Muttering incoherent curses as he got up, he looked down at who was the cause of his crash, and his black irises widened with rage.

"Seema." The mantis looked up at him, surprised.

"Rozik! I see you managed to get out." She said. "Listen, I-"

"-Am just about to break your scrawny little neck," Rozik snarled, tackling her back to the ground. "You traitorous bitch! You've been working with these freaks all along, haven't you?"

"If you would let me explain," She replied, pushing him away. "Then maybe you'd understand!"

"Then you have five seconds to give me one damn good reason why I shouldn't just rip your little head off." The hedgehog backed off a bit, though he was still at an advantage over Seema. The mantis nodded.

"…You see, when I first found out that my parents were in charge of the Prixtal Military camps, it didn't affect me too much. But…when I found out they were going to make me go through there, and become an empty soldier, I knew something was wrong.

I joined Prixtal as a spy, hoping that it would not only keep me from being put in the military, but I could figure out what was going on. As I did so, I found out all the horrible things Mercy has been doing. So…I was rash, and…I tried to assassinate him."

"Well," Rozik growled. "It obviously didn't work, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Simple. He caught me, and gave me a choice: Either he'd kill me, or I'd have to surrender all loyalty to him. I would do anything he ordered me to. I picked that, because…I…did not want to die, and if I did, there would be no hope for my parents either. I had to, I…" She paused. "I had no idea I would end up betraying you all like this."

"Better suck it up then," Rozik replied, standing back up. "Still with them?"

"…I'm not sure." Seema admitted. "After tonight…I'm not sure if I could do this again. Relaying information back to him is one thing, but betraying my friends, I don't know if I could do that. Besides…" The mantis looked around. "We have to get Gary out of here. I am not completely sure what he is going to do with him…but whatever it is, it's the worst alternative."

"That answers it for you right there." The white hunter started walking off. "Come on then, before I change my mind." Seema was honestly surprised that the hedgehog's anger hadn't gotten the better of him this once. She didn't have much time to think about it, however, since he started running off again, and she had to catch up sooner or later.

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Meanwhile, Al'catraz and Darem had managed to find a few rooms that Rozik had missed. Most of these were either empty, or had nothing important. However, this one was different: It was a giant laboratory, with stasis capsules everywhere. There was a large computer module mounted to one of the walls, with various information on the screen.

"Ach, what Orea wouldna' give to see this," Darem said, inspecting it. "Think anything useful be here?" Al'catraz shrugged.

"Nothing so far, just weird looking things in pods…hold on a sec. Darem, come look at this! Quickly!" There was a tone of urgency in her voice, and Darem rushed over to the pod she was looking at.

"Holy…impossible!" Inside was a dragon. The creature was structured almost exactly like Darem, but with a few differences in detail and colors. A smaller computer attached to the cell flashed the words, Abandoned: Dispose of Immediately. The worst part, however, was that Darem remembered seeing that particular dragon before.

"I didna see him much, but I ken I did. Was one of my…father's pals, I think." He looked over at the next capsule; another dragon was inside. A female this time. Darem remembered her too. In fact, a lot of the capsules held dragons, amongst other failed experiments. Pretty much every dragon was one that Darem remembered seeing before when he was a kid, before being separated from the others.

"Well then, what would they be doing here?" Al'catraz asked. "Did Prixtal capture them?"

"Nay, not all of them. I remember seeing some of these-most of these, in fact- dead. And these…these dinna' look like they have a scratch on 'em." The dragon sighed. "This is just great, just…hold on, I think I see something." It was another capsule, the only one that did not have an 'Abandoned' sign on it. Inside the capsule was a small hedgehog girl, with gray fur, and a large gun fused to her left arm.

"Suzy!" The bat delivered a devastating blow to the glass, shattering it as the girl fell out. The bat caught her, trying to wake her up.

"…Alcy?" Suzy mumbled, her eyes fluttering open. "What happened Alcy? My awm feels funny." The bat looked like she was trying to hold herself together, and barely doing it.

"Don't worry Suzy, it'll be okay. We're going to have to leave now, okay?" Al turned to Darem, handing Suzy to him. "Carry her, will you? I don't think I can handle holding her while murdering whoever the hell did this to her. Come on, we're leaving." The bat rushed out the room, followed by a confused dragon, and a little girl who was wondering what the metal stuff on her arm was…

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"There he is!" Orea cried, pointing to an electric cell in the middle of the room. The rabbit and Brom had gotten to Gary's cell rather quickly. The echidna seemed to be unconscious at the moment, probably from hanging so long.

"Stand back," Brom ordered the rabbit, "I'm going to break in." It was a good thing he had brought his Warhammer in case of emergency; this qualified as one by all means. He swung the mighty weapon at the bars, making sure to let go just as it collided to avoid being shocked. The warhammer busted through the bars, and skidded to the middle of the cell floor.

"I'll get him out." Orea stood in front of the cell, made a desperate leap, and landed on the hammer (it was big enough for a person to stand on). Trying to keep her balance, she leaned over to Gary's shackles, pulling out a laser just small enough to break the chains (but not strong enough to break the bars, which is why she hadn't used it earlier). Gary fell out, and she almost fell while catching him, making sure he didn't collide with the floor. Turning to Brom and giving him a quick thumbs-up, Orea hopped back, barely missing the electric floor as she landed next to Brom.

"Nice job," he said as he grabbed his warhammer off the floor. "We should head back now."

"I don't think you are going anywhere." Behind them was Mercy, smirking. "Why do you think the guards just-so-happened to be gone? I wanted to see how far you could get."

"I had a feeling this would happen," Brom muttered. "Orea, when I give the word, run." Orea, who was still holding Gary, shook her head.

"But Brom-" At that instant, Mercy seemed to have disappeared, and the guards who had been missing before seemed to pour into the room, weapons wielded. The hunter leader grabbed his warhammer.

"Go now! There's a hatch in the back!" She didn't want to, but the rabbit obeyed, ducking into the hatch with Gary beside her. The entry was quickly shut, and outside she could hear the sounds of screams and gunfire. Only able to hope that everything would turn out alright in the end, the rabbit, carrying Gary, began to crawl through the hatch.

"Don't worry," Orea whispered, "I'll get you out. Promise."


	12. Every Man For Himself

**Chapter 11: Every Man for Himself**

One instant he was asleep, and the next, Gary was fearing for his life. Almost as soon as he woke up, Orea had told him to stay quiet as they crawled through the vent. The main building was above them, and they could hear gunshots and screams reverberate to their ears. The Prixtal soldiers had returned, and not for the better. Gary couldn't help but wonder who the soldiers were currently fighting; Brom, Rozik, Al'catraz and Darem, possibly Seema (Orea had filled him in on that), or all of the above? He didn't know, but he found it hard to care when cramped under a battlefield.

"Are we at the exit yet?" Gary whispered.

"If we were," the rabbit retorted, "we would, like, be out right now. Just keep moving." There was a pause. "If I'm, like, correct, this vent follows right under the hallways toward the exit, as part of a, like, underground air conditioning system. That said, I would imagine this thing will eventually lead outside of this place. And a good thing too." Gary nodded.

"What about the others?" He asked. Orea shook her head.

"Sadly, there are, like, only three real possibilities. Either they escape, they're captured and forced to work for Prixtal…or they're killed."

The pair continued for about fifteen minutes until they saw a light ahead. Quickly, they crawled over to the exit, which was only blocked by a small metal screen. With Orea's laser taking care of that, it didn't take much to break out.

"Crap…looks like we're not done yet." They had gotten out of the main building, yes, but not the gate. You see, stationed around Prixtal's main building was a large electric fence with all the fixings; lasers, security guards, barbed wires, and cameras. Add to that the fact that there was enough space to surround and capture any runaways that managed to escape the prison, and you had Gary and Orea's situation.

"Have we been spotted yet?" Gary asked. From a few meters away, a guard cocked his rifle.

"I think so. Run!" The young hunters bolted out of the hole as the man fired. Gary rushed him, taking him down, and Orea confiscated the guard's weapon. Unfortunately, other soldiers noticed, and began to swarm toward the hunters.

"We can't take all of them down!" Gary exclaimed. He would be able to take down a good amount, and so would Orea, but there was always the matters of fatigue, ammo, and injuries. No one could last forever against this army; exactly how Mercy wanted it.

Suddenly, one of the walls on the building's side burst, accompanied by a sound like booming thunder. A few soldiers were knocked through the hole, followed by Brom shortly after. The bull was charging headfirst at a group of warriors, mowing them down with his warhammer smashing anything he didn't. The sound of cracking skulls could be heard from where Gary was, and for a minute, it seemed like maybe they could take the army down.

Unfortunately, one minute goes by fast.

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Saying that Lash was ticked was definitely and understatement. Once word had gotten out that the hunters had escaped their cells, Kecht was almost certain that his partner hit the roof. The duo ran through the hallways; the wolverine girl toying with something on her finger as she did so. The wolf beside her caught a glimpse of what it was: a small ring with a silver gem. A Daim Gem, to be precise.

"Lash, please don't take off your ring," Kecht pleaded. "Kecht would not like to see you become a demon and kill everyone. You might kill Kecht and his babies, as well as all the other people."

"I don't care about anyone here Freak," the ruby colored beast growled. "But if it makes you feel any better, I won't be the one turning into a demon. Look." Up ahead, Kecht could make out two figures. One was flying while the other ran. Apparently, it was Seema and Rozik.

"The bug girl's a traitor?" The wolf asked in disbelief.

"I suppose she isn't good with backstabbing one side," Lash snarled, speeding up. "She had to try and stab us too! Well, it ain't working. Kecht, got any Arkenic left?"

"Kecht only has a little."

"Perfect." The beast darted forward, landed on all fours, and instantly threw herself forward, pouncing on Seema and pinning her to the ground. Rozik turned around as soon as he heard Lash, but before he could react, Kecht was beside him with a hand on the Arkenic needle, stabbing into the white hunter's skin. He froze, and with Seema pinned onto the floor, the two hunters couldn't stop Lash from whatever she was planning to do next.

"Hold this for me," Lash ordered, handing the mantis to Kecht. The wolverine, arms now free, walked over to the paralyzed hedgehog. Both pairs of ebony eyes reflected the same emotion: anger and hate. The wolverine smirked.

"I won't turn into a demon…yet," she muttered. "Though I would love to fight you, I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait on that. If you live, of course." One clawed hand went to the collar around Rozik's neck, fingering the small silver crystal. It matched the one on her ring perfectly, as if they were carved from the exact same stone.

"Start screaming my name boy; it'll be the last thing you say for a long damn time." At that exact moment, both Kecht and Seema realized what was about to take place. The mantis managed to toss her oppressor off, and rushed to tear Lash away. However, it was too late; the collar was ripped away, and Rozik sunk to the ground. A low moan passed his lips, turning to a full-fledged scream as his body began to morph. The sound of bones grinding as they changed in size was almost enough to sicken someone, but not as much as the sight of mezate bursting through the skin, like rapidly-forming thorns.

"You have to stop this right now!" Seema screamed, seizing Lash by the shoulders. "Do you realize what you're doing unleashing a demon here?"

"No to the first, yes to the second," The beast growled. "You expect me to care? Ha! All I want is to see you hunters dead, and that's final."

Behind her, the ceiling broke, the demon reaching full size at a little over seventeen feet at the highest point on the head. Noticing the potential prey before him, the demon swiped all three of them with his claws, which were like his regular clawed gauntlets, but incorporated into all four paws. The blow knocked Seema and Kecht into the wall, and Lash to the floor, breaking her left side in numerous places.

"Rozik, calm down!" Seema yelled. "You have to turn back to normal before you destroy everything!" Sensing the noise, the beast stared down at her. Sudden fear gripped the mantis as she saw the pure black eyes, emanating nothing of her comrade, just animalistic fury. Nothing but a monster of hatred…

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On the other side of the Prixtal Prison, Al'catraz was much too busy kicking the arses of soldiers to take much notice in the crash at the other side of the building. Darem and Suzy heard the noise, but decided that now was probably not the time to inform her. By now, they had ended up at what seemed like an air dock, where a few Prixtal helicopters were being kept (and some other vehicles as well). Any guards nearby were gone (most likely leaving to investigate the crash), so the trio were alone.

"I wonder…" Al'catraz's eyes rested on the largest helicopter in the room, which had the official Prixtal flag design painted on the side, colored in turquoise and vermillion. The bat concluded this was most likely Mercy's personal helicopter, and that he would be showing up any minute to leave.

"Ye be planning something, aren't ye?" Darem asked cautiously, noting the look in the girl's eyes. "I can tell by the way ye be eyeing that copter. Got a plan?"

"Kind of." She replied with a shrug. "I've barely ever seen a flying vehicle myself, but the gas in them is flammable, right?" The dragon was silent as he thought about this, and realized what her plan was.

"Lass, if I set that tank afire, ye two are most likely dead. I can withstand heat, but I'mna' so sure about ye-"

"Don't worry, I have that figured out." Al'catraz walked over to Suzy, who was still clinging onto Darem's back. "Suzy, can I have a ribbon from your dress? The one right there?" The child nodded, handing Al the ribbon. It was a rather long ribbon, and the bat soon had part of it secured around the tank, and the rest dangling down like a fuse.

"You'll be hiding under the copter, and when I tell you to, you're going to set this ribbon on fire," She explained. "If we time it right, it'll be when the copter begins to lift. The updraft will help get the flames to the tank, and when it's in the air…you don't need help imagining what happens next."

"Right…and I'm gonna' risk me tail to do this…why?"

"Simple." Al'catraz, at this point, had a mix of cunning and rage on her face. "No one, and I mean NO one, messes with me or my family. Rozik and Suzy are all I have, and if something happens to them, someone's going to pay. Besides, I'm sure no one really minds if Mercy's dead, right?" There was a pause. "Of course, if you don't want to help me with this…I suppose I could always use that nice little tail of yours in a stew. It'd add a nice amount of flavor, you know."

"…Fine. Hold ye're wee friend then." The dragon ducked under the helicopter, braced to run out as soon as the ribbon was lit. Meanwhile, Al'catraz and Suzy hijacked another fine Prixtal vehicle: a tank. This way, if the blast got to them, the tank would lessen the damage, due to its incredibly strong armor. Sitting Suzy on her lap, the bat readied for the only thing they needed to do now: wait.

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Back in the battlefield, the fight had not been going on too long, maybe a few minutes at the most. Gary had already felled a good number of soldiers, when suddenly, a large crashing noise came from the other side of the prison. Turning his head, the echidna saw part of the building collapse, and underneath the rubble was, surprisingly, a white demon. Remembering the cat demon back at Nauticon, a shiver went down his spine as he realized that the child paled in comparison to an adult demon.

"Holy…when did that get there?" Orea asked in surprise, almost letting her guard down long enough for a soldier to attack. She thankfully noticed, and shot the foe in the head before it could strike. "Is that, like, one of the demons Prixtal captured?"

"I don't believe it is," Brom answered from nearby. "Unless I am mistaken, that demon is actually Rozik." Both of the younger hunter's eyes widened. Gary was alarmed; that was his partner?

"How are we going to stop him then?"

"Like most demons, I would imagine his weak spot is either on his neck or atop his head somewhere."

"We should be able to, like, climb up there, right?" Orea asked.

"Looks big enough to." The bull leader nodded. "Yes, we should. First off, however, we need to attempt to find his gem. It's most likely somewhere in the rubble of the building. Hopefully it isn't crushed."

"…Uhmm, guys?" Gary pointed over to the demon. "Is it just me, or did Rozik just notice we're here?" The answer, sadly, was the latter.

"Everybody scatter!" Hunters and soldiers alike ran at the very sight of the demon as it ravaged the battlefield. Crimson pools gathered at the beast's paws as it slayed numerous Prixtal soldiers, either by ripping them to shreds or devouring the bodies almost whole. Now Gary understood how big of a menace demons actually were…and why they were wanted dead.

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It was hard for anyone to tell what Mercy was thinking at that time. The revered leader did seem angered by Lash's decision to loose a demon in the building, but otherwise, he acted rather pleased with what was going on. The golden echidna was almost at the air dock now, and he could leave this wretched place before it went up in smoke. And, if things went according to plan, he'd have a little "friend" coming with him.

"Master, do not leave without Kecht!" The wolf commander was spotted out of the corner of icy-blue eyes, Lash slung over his back, and a trail of blood (mostly from the wolverine) behind them.

"Commander Kecht, what is the meaning of this?" Mercy asked, thought he already figured out the answer.

"Lash was damaged by the demon, and Kecht needs to get her to a doctor! And…Kecht does not want to fight the demon yet. Kecht really doesn't want to fight the demon yet." Mercy noted the fear in the wolf's eyes; if it wasn't for the fact that emotionless soldiers weren't nearly good enough to hold positions over Squadron Captain, he would have taken away the useless emotions from these Commanders by now.

"You may come with me in my copter then. It is the only one allowed to leave until this little scuttle is taken care of." Entering the air dock, Kecht immediately climbed in with Lash into the back, while Mercy took the pilot's seat. While most people would not want to endanger their leader by letting him drive, Mercy was one for doing things like this himself; especially with what he had planned.

Installed on the opposite side of the control stick for the driving was another stick, which controlled a small gun called a Warp Gun mounted on the copter's side. It wasn't a weapon, but instead fired a beam that would automatically transport the person fired at to a laboratory at Almarant. Unfortunately, the Warp Gun was still not perfected yet; it heated up quickly, so that only one shot could be fired every ten minutes. One miss could be a deadly mistake…of course, Mercy didn't plan on missing.

"Little guardian, you are going to be mine in the end," Whispered his chilling voice. "Once that takes place, it is only a matter of time…"


	13. Plans Do Not Go According To Plan

**Chapter 12: Plans Do Not Go According To Plan**

Mercy strapped himself into the cockpit of the helicopter. He allowed the chains replacing his right arm to coil around the control stick, and his left hand held firmly to the Warp Gun controls. Not waiting to make sure the commanders had boarded safely, the copter began its rapid ascent into the skies.

"Now!" A sudden voice shouted. Mercy wasn't sure where it came from, but almost immediately, the smell of smoke drifted upward. Fire, but from where?

"How horribly inconvenient," he muttered to no one in particular. "I assume that I have less time to carry out my plan than expected." The copter was now rather low in the air, but high enough so that the demon could not reach him. Chilling eyes scanned the battlefield, searching for a certain blue echidna amongst the sea of red. There; over near the west wing, where the demon had come from. With precise aiming, the Warp Gun fired…

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Gary was practically wading through the corpses of fallen soldiers as he hurried towards the ruined building. If there was any chance of getting the whole gang out of here alive, that Daim Gem was the only option. Demon Rozik seemed occupied temporarily by some live soldiers, giving the remaining three hunters time to find that crystal.

There was a sudden flash, as a bright beam shot toward him. Temporarily blinding him, the young boy froze, unable to move. Closer it came, and right as it was about to hit, a blow to the side blew Gary away. As he hit the ground, he saw Brom being hit by the beam, and fading away into thin air, and up in the air, a helicopter disappearing in a green glow…

_"Brom must have knocked me out of the way to save me,"_ Gary thought, _"and that helicopter…it must be using that Chaos Control thing to disappear!"_ Surprisingly, he didn't feel sad or angry; his mind was too focused on the task at hand. Shaking the last of the light out of his sight, he continued toward the ruin.

"Gary, over here!" Flying toward him was Seema, with a small silver crystal in her grasp. She landed next to him, careful to avoid more blood from seeping from the bodies that replaced the ground.

"I managed to dig it up from the rubble," she explained. Looking around, she saw Orea, but no one else. "Where are the others?"

"…Brom was here a few seconds ago, but he was hit by a beam, and he disappeared. I don't know about Darem or Al'catraz, though."

"Who?" The mantis asked, not knowing the latter of the two. "Oh well, no matter. Look; we have to find a way to get this Daim Gem close enough to Rozik to turn him back to normal. Unfortunately, with all those mezate spikes, I'm not sure how close we can get to him. Especially if he doesn't stop running around…"

"I'm sure we'll think of something!" Gary replied hastily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a certain white demon eyeing Orea, who had just finished fending off a few soldiers that had, until a few minutes ago, been alive. "Quick, we have to go make sure Orea doesn't get killed!"

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At the same instant, yet another hole was forced through the prison walls, this time from the tank that Al'catraz had commandeered. Having convinced Darem into driving (as if he hadn't been forced into enough already), the tank ambled over the dead bodies, and for the first time, the trio noticed the demon.

"Alcy, what's that thing?" Suzy asked, pointing at the beast. The bat's eyes widened in horror.

"Please tell me that isn't Rozik. F-cking tell me that isn't Rozik."

"…Sorry tae break it to ye, but I be thinking that is," Darem replied. "I guess he was a demon after all, aye? Thing is, what are we to be doing about it?"

"How do you expect me to know?" Al'catraz threw up her hands in exasperation. "The only time I ever saw him in his demon form, his dad got there quick enough with his Daim Gem to get Roz to normal before he could transform all the way."

"His da?"

"Yeah, his dad was a demon too. I think it's some kind of inherited thing…don't worry, Suzy isn't one," she added quickly. "Look; I think I see the others over there. Drive to the left a bit…yeah, that way." The tank made it to Orea around the same time Gary and Seema made it, which surprised the rabbit.

"I see, like, we're all here," she said. "Nice of you to, like, come to my rescue. Hold on…where's Brom?"

"He kinda-" Gary was cut off by a look from Seema. "I'll explain later, okay?"

"Right." The rabbit thought for a minute. If Brom wasn't here, then the next person to lead the team would be her. But what to do about Rozik? As the question entered her mind, a plan began to form…risky, but it just might work.

"These tanks, if I remember correctly, are known to, like, possess some of the strongest armor in the world…so I'm pretty sure they could, like, stand up to a demon, right?" The others nodded. "With Rozik being such a, like, giant demon, it would be really hard to fly or climb up there, right?" Another series of nods.

"Alright then, here's, like, the plan." The rabbit pointed at the tank. Like most other tanks, this one had a cannon placed on it. "We simply, like, make sure there are no weapons in there. Then, Seema will give Gary the Daim Gem. He'll curl up as tight as he can, and we'll place him in the cannon. Since the tank is so strong, Rozik would have a hard time hurting it, so Darem will drive as close as possible to him. At the right moment, Al'catraz will fire Gary out of the cannon, and onto Roz. The Daim Gem, once in contact, will take effect, and our little friend will be back to normal."

Seema raised a brow. "That is rather risky. There are about a million ways it could go wrong. Maybe with a team of professionals, we could pull it off, but otherwise-"

"If you, like, have a better plan, I would so love to hear it," Orea scoffed. "Does anyone else object?" No one dared to; not with the demon so close that it could decide to chase them any minute.

"It's crazy enough for me to try," Al'catraz said.

"Easy for ye' to say; you arna' the one driving…but I suppose I could be giving it a go."

"…What's a cannon?" This last part was from Gary. Orea pointed to the weapon atop the tank.

"That thing. Grab the gem, and get in NOW." Seema handed the boy the silver crystal, and he quickly climbed into the cannon. It was by far the most cramped position he had ever been in before, enough to make most people feel claustrophobic. He clenched the gem in his grip like there was no tomorrow, and in less than a minute, he felt the tank begin to move.

Orea and Seema watched from down below, the former holding Suzy.

"Sure this will work?"

"Seema, if there is, like, one thing I've learned, it's to never be sure of anything." She sighed. "…I guess all we can do is stay alive ourselves…"

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_"Blood…so much blood…I've never seen this much blood in my life. Who killed all these soldiers? And why…why am I enjoying this so much?"_

The demon looked around, as if realizing what it was doing. The sound of crackling bones reached its ears with every step, and the scent of battle hung heavy. The only things moving down below were some people- he couldn't tell what they were, for they were too small for him to see clearly- and…a tank.

_"So now Prixtal's sending tanks to destroy me? Ha! I'll make them wish they were never born."_

_"…But how did I get here in the first place?"_ It seemed that in part of the demon's mind, Rozik was starting to wake up. This was a rare occurrence in demons, thought not unheard of. Most of the time, it was only temporary; the demon was the same person, after all. _"Dammit, it doesn't matter how I got here! What matters is destroying them before they take me out! Anything that tries to destroy me deserves to die…and I'll gladly kill them"_

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The tank below drove closer. Out of instinct, the demon swiped it with his claws, which would have severely damaged most vehicles. The tank was merely shaken back, much to the beast's aggravation. It charged forward with another swipe, which again had barely any effect.

"I knew Roz was stubborn, but this is ridiculous!" Al'catraz growled from her seat in the tank, manning the cannon controls. "How are we going to get Gary up there if we keep getting attacked?"

Darem thought about this a minute. "Well, running intae a wall makes ye dizzy, aye? All we need to be doing is getting him to run intae something of the sort…I suppose the rest of tha' prison would be working nicely?" Al smirked.

"This plan gets stranger by the minute, you know that? How are we going to not crash into the building ourselves?"

"…Ye dinna think I be driving this slow on purpose, do ye? Hold on tight lass!" The tank darted forward with a sudden burst of speed. As planned, the demon followed, black eyes focused on the vehicle. The girls watched nearby, wondering what exactly the duo was up to.

"Alri', wall coming up," Darem barked. "Be ready tae fire!"

"Roger that!" Gary heard this last part from his position in the cannon. Bracing himself, he suddenly realized something: Cannons were like guns, right? Then didn't they fire with a really big explosion?

**BANG!**

Opening his eyes, the boy found himself in the air. The sound of the blast still rung in his ears, but that wasn't the worst of the news. The plan had worked; Rozik had run into the building. Unfortunately, he kept going, crashing through the ruins of the prison. This, of course, meant that Al had missed with her aiming.

"WAAAAAH!!!!" The echidna began flailing his arms like wings, trying to slow his descent. One flailing hand grabbed hold of something, bringing his descent to a sudden stop. Surprised at his luck, the set of off-colored eyes noticed that the thing that saved him was…a tail. A mezate covered, white furred tail.

"I guess Al'catraz's aim wasn't as bad as I thought." The echidna looked at the Daim Gem in his other hand. "I wonder…would this work yet?" He placed the crystal against the fur. No changes. Probably because he wasn't close enough to the actual body.

Like a whip, the tail thrashed to the side, sending Gary with it. It was like holding on to the end of a giant snake (not that Gary knew what one was, mind you), and he was losing grip. Up he was tossed, and the gem fell down. Catching the silver crystal, he realized he was falling again, and the ground wasn't remarkably far away.

The demon looked back, seeing the body falling. It prepared to pounce, ready to grab the echidna with its teeth.

_"Hold on…that's Gary!" _For an instant, Rozik had control of the beast's mind. Charging forward, he managed to get between the boy and the ground right as Gary landed. The echidna blinked.

"…That was lucky," he thought to himself. He had landed on the back, in between the two back quills (being a hedgehog, Roz's demon form retained certain traits, such as quills). Being much closer than the tail, Gary pulled out the Daim Gem, placing it against the white fur. With a brief glow, the gem began to work its magic, and the beast began to morph back to normal. The boy nodded, when suddenly, a vision appeared, replacing all else.

_It was the island in the sky again…Seraph Island, was it? He was watching the Lord Maelstrom Crystal shrine, and the sky overhead was a haze of colors. At the alter was a familiar looking echidna, golden in color, and seven gems of brilliant colors._

_"No, you must stop this foolishness!" The echidna looked back with chilling eyes, and one of the crystals, a brilliant violet in color, shattered into seemingly millions of pieces…_

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"My god, like, it actually worked!" Orea exclaimed, putting Suzy down. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her over to the two bodies on the ground. Gary, looking rather dizzy, was sitting next to Rozik, unconscious and spotted with blood.

"Orea, I did it!" The echidna got shakily to his feet. "Your plan worked!"

"Like, good job," she said simply. "Come on, we, like, better get out of here. Can you still walk?" Gary nodded, though his legs buckled under him a few seconds later. Orea caught him, sighing. "Guess not."

_"I really wonder what happened to Brom,"_ She wondered. _"But I'm sure he'll be back soon. For now, I need to help get the others out of here."_ She looked over to where Seema was, motioning her over.

"Oh, Orea?" The girl looked down at the echidna in her arms.

"What is it Gary?"

"Thanks for everything." He paused. "If I told you…that I think there's more I need to do…would you come with me?" Orea was quiet.

"We'll see when the time comes, okay? I promise."


	14. Momentary Respite

**Chapter 13: Momentary Respite**

The gang sat in the tank they had commandeered from the prison, driving toward Blackthorn City. It was the dead of night, and Gary was struggling to keep his eyes opened. Outside, the clouds and smog were dark, and not even the moon could penetrate the barrier they cast over the gloomy city.

"Will we be there soon?" His drowsy voice asked. Seema nodded absently, absorbed in the task of helping Al'catraz bandage up the demon-hog as he slept. Suzy sat next to Gary, investigating her new metal arm, while Orea and Darem were up front driving.

"We arna' going tae be able tae drive this through the city," The latter explained. "I be thinking it'd be best tae head to me boat; I wouldna be surprised if the gov'nment were to be searching the city for us."

"Good plan," Seema agreed. "We could hide there, and escape quickly if need be." She sighed. "Thing is, what are we going to do afterward?"

"Heck, we can always figure that out when we get there," The gothic bat beside her replied. "Worse comes to worse, we can always move to a neutral country. Of course, it may be hard to get out without some valid birth certificates and the like, but…" A light snoring noise reached their ears, emanating from Gary. The young boy was slumped over in his seat, dozing lightly.

"Poor little guy; he's had a hard day," The bat continued. "I'm surprised Rozzy over here didn't kill him." She looked over at Orea. "Hey rabbit, you seem awfully quiet. What's up?"

Orea blinked, as if waking from a day-dream. "Like, it's nothing. Just thinking…like, that's all." The rest of the trip was spent in silence, as the tank drove on towards a beacon of gloom…

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_**"…Are you there? Speak to me…time is of the essence."**_

_Gary looked around, wide eyed. Everything was gray, and the only other thing in the room beside him was an orb. It floated a few feet above the ground, a soft blue light. It was the voice again; the one he had heard before. What had he called it the last time?_

_"Father? Are you called Father?" the boy asked. He didn't know what it meant, but it apparently was something._

_**"I see your memory remains altered. Yes, you may refer to me as Father. Now, I must ask these questions quickly; I cannot retain contact for long. Now, have you heard of the Maelstrom Crystals yet?"**_

_"A bit. Why do you ask?" Gary paused. "Does it have to do with that Lord Crystal?"_

_**"Indeed. Now listen closely to me: The Lord has been shattered, as well as one of the Seven Crystals. I would fix this myself, but seeing as I am the only one left on Seraph Island, I must remain here and protect the Lord. Therefore, I need you to return to the isle immediately."**_

_Gary raised an eyebrow. "How do I do that?"_

_**"The only way you can reach the island again is to collect the remaining six Crystals. Have you been able to sense them at all?"**_

_"I don't know. How can I tell if I can?"_

_**"…"**_

_"Father?"_

_**"Forgive me, but I must go now, my son. Do not fret; all shall be explained later. For now, begin your search for the Crystals. I will wait for you here."**__ The orb of light faded, and Gary once again sank into the darkness of sleep…_

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"God he's heavy." Orea had just finished dragging Gary into one of the lower-deck rooms, which were basically sleeping bunks. He was sleeping like a rock, and only the ripped-up tuxedo could prove that he hadn't been here sleeping this whole time.

Orea found it humorous, suddenly, that they were still in their outfits from Resna. The rabbit kicked off her lemon-yellow high heels, sitting next to her dozing comrade. Her feet hurt like hell, but then again, Brom had advised her not to wear those high heels just in case something cropped up.

"Almost like he knew…" she muttered quietly. Gary had explained to her what happened to the bull at least five times during their escape. "I heard of the Warp Gun, but I, like, had no idea it was finished." Jade green eyes drifted over to her sleeping comrade, watching his chest lift and fall in sync with his breathing.

"Brom…is he really important enough to, like, risk your own life for? They might kill you…" She unconsciously tugged at her left ear as she said this; a common nervous habit for most rabbits. Brom wasn't just the leader of the hunters, but he had practically raised her. She remembered nothing of her own parents, just living with Brom and his various groups of hunters. Having him gone was like losing a father.

"I've, like, made up my mind." She stood up, careful not to accidentally wake up Gary. "No matter what it, like, takes, I'm going to find him, even if I have to, like, drag myself through hell and back to do so! I know he'd do the same for me." Jade eyes fell back on the echidna on the bunk. "And if you're important enough for Brom to risk his life for, then like, it's good enough for me."

-----------------------------------------

She drifted silently, like a disowned shadow, throughout the corridors of the ship. The skills she learned as a spy; sneak, record, and kill, were the only things she could depend on at the moment.

"Seema Anise Novella, what have you gotten yourself into now?" She muttered. Everything had been set for a life on both sides; working both for and against Prixtal, and in the course of one night, everything shattered. In most likely events, she was now a fugitive (as the rest of the hunters probably were), and her trust with her fellow teammates was fragile at best. Betraying them, turning them over to their enemies…was it really worth it?

The mantis remembered her parents, before they had changed into someone she didn't know. They had always been proud of her skills, valuing her capabilities as a future spy as well as a respectable woman. However, there was one thing her mother had told her time and time again, _"Seema, you can never please everyone. You may be able to work on opposing sides for awhile, but it'll all fall out eventually. Remember that."_

Why hadn't she listened to the last real advice her mother had given her?

Seema shook her head. Now was not the time for reminiscing, but for deciding. The only place for her now was here, with the remaining bounty hunters. Betraying Prixtal earlier and helping the others escape cut off all ties with them, and if she stayed with her uncle, she would be found eventually.

_"You shouldn't have saved them. Once you turned them in, all ties should be severed. Friends are worth nothing to you Seema; they'll only limit your potential."_

The mantis sighed, leaning against the wall. Why were things like this so hard? Why couldn't one play for two sides? What she needed now was to get her thoughts straight, refigure her motives, and-

She paused. Thinking that she heard something, the mantis put her ear softly against the wooden plank of a wall. A slight rustle of sheets and grumbles reached her ear. Wasn't this the room they had placed Rozik in?

_"He almost killed you, you know. Breaking someone's trust can make them want to do that."_ But he hadn't. He let her live. The thing she still failed to understand, however, was why.

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In the aforementioned room, Rozik stirred awake, black eyes fluttering open. His head pounded with a headache, which beat in time with his still-rapid heartbeat. Looking over himself, he noticed himself in a bed he did not remember falling asleep in, and bandages covering various parts of his body (especially his back and his head, explaining the headache). Yet he didn't feel like puking his guts out, which meant he wasn't experiencing a hangover, which in turn ruled out having gotten drunk. So what had happened?

Then it hit him: The stench of blood, corpses littering the grounds…rage unlike anything he'd ever felt. On instinct, he reached for the collar around his neck, almost in a panic. The necklace, though a bit torn, was around his neck, with the small gem resting against the fluff of gray fur on his chest. The snowy hedgehog heaved a sigh of relief.

In a way, part of him always knew he was a demon. There was no denying that he had every quality of one, and why else had his parents always made sure his necklace stayed on? But for some reason, he found himself denying it again and again.

"Crap…" was the best insult he could come up with at the moment, the throbbing ache in his head cramping most other thoughts. God, how he wished he was too drunk to feel this right now! He sat up, much to the protest of his arms (which had their fair share of bandages on them as well, including his fingers), and examined the room a bit better.

There was a table and a chair, the latter of which had a spare change of clothes. Not his usual leather jacket and boots, but it would have to do. Stepping out of bed, Rozik ignored the pain that raced through him as he grabbed the garments, tossing them on. Shirt, pants, shoes, check. Now to figure out what to do.

"_Al'catraz and Suzy were there too, right? I better go make sure they made it out alright."_ He flung open the door, surprised to see Seema standing outside.

"You really shouldn't be up yet, you know," the mantis chided. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Finding my sisters." He shrugged. "Your turn to answer to me. Why are you waiting for me outside my room?"

"No reason." There was an awkward silence.

"…I apologize for earlier." She muttered.

"Don't mention it. What matters is being here right now, ain't it?" Rozik turned to walk away, grimacing at the unfamiliar pain that accompanied each step. Seema shook her head, softly placing a hand on the snowy hunter's arm.

"I already told you; you shouldn't be up yet. I'll go find Al'catraz and Suzy, and bring them here, okay?"

Rozik gave a kind of disgruntled sigh. "Fine…but if you take too long, I'll have your head for it." Seema gave a soft smile, snickering at the comment.

"Don't excite yourself with that. I won't be long, promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Limping back into his room, he turned to see she had already left. Shrugging it off, he wondered what exactly he was going to do about his sisters now anyway, seeing as they had joined him in the gang's little escapade. The snowy hunter decided to worry about it later, and dozed off back to sleep.

-----------------------------------------

The bridge of the ship was a tad bit dusty, having been neglected for the past few days. Maps littered any window-less space on the walls, and even a fair amount of the ceiling. Darem sat beside the wheel, running a hand over the hard wood. It felt good to be back in his ship after what had happened earlier.

Odd how all he had done was hire them for a bit, just a bit, and he had been roped back in again. The dragon growled a bit, this was not what he had planned at all. The plan had been to find some other dragon clans, and maybe a few from his own that had escaped Prixtal's invasion, while collecting as much loot and treasure as he could on the way. Now everyone on the ship was part of Prixtal's hit list, and as mentioned earlier, on his ship. Meaning he was stuck in this for good. There was also the fact that pretty much everyone in his clan, dead or not, had been seen at that Prixtal science lab without a scratch, and looking like empty shells.

Darem shuffled through a small cabinet positioned in the corner, pulling out a cheap pack of cigarettes and lighting one. Nothing calmed a dragon's nerves more than something at least mildly warm in his mouth, if not scalding hot. Inhaling the smoke a bit, he wondered a bit more about the incident. How could dead people, as well as mortally wounded ones, appear there without a scratch? He admitted, his memory was rather hazy regarding the fight (or anything about his years at home), but watching friends and family die was not something one would forget. So how was it possible?

"Excuse me," His non-blind eye turned toward Seema, who was standing in the doorway. "You haven't seen Al'catraz or Suzy at all, have you?"

"No, I canna say I have." The dragon replied, his tail tapping against the wall. "They arna' above deck if they ken what's good for them. I'd hafta' say they probably be wandering around the ship." The mantis nodded with a quick "Thank you," and prepared to leave.

"Aye, before ye go, I be having a question for ye." Seema turned.

"What would that be Darem?"

"…If ye saw people ye kent from home, and they be all locked up in a lab, lookin' as if they'd never been alive, what would ye think?" The question had been bothering him since seeing that lab. The spy in front of him raised an eyebrow.

"Dragons in a lab? I can't say I've heard of Prixtal doing anything with them, not even anything about attacking your clan." She thought for a minute for her answer to the question. "I'm not sure what I think if I saw that, tell you the truth. All I know is, I'd probably be confused, and probably sad." Shrugging her tiny shoulders, she turned and left.

"…Aye. Sad." He turned back to the wheel, pretending to examine a map as more smoke seeped into the air…

-----------------------------------------

The missing duo had actually ended up in the galley after wandering the ship. Al'catraz leaned back against the wall, watching Suzy examine every nook and cranny of the room. If she found something of interest, she would poke it with her metal arm first to make sure it was safe, and then would poke it again with her normal arm.

"Doing alright kiddo?" The bat asked. Suzy turned around, casting a curious glance with her eyes.

"Of couwse I'm fine Alcy. Why wouldn't I be?" The bat shook her head.

"…So there's no problems with your new arm?" Suzy shrugged, poking the aforementioned limb with its fleshy counterpart.

"It looks funny, and feels kinda' funny," she explained, "But it's alwight othewise Alcy! I like it! Oh, and watch this!" Turning around, the little girl climbed over to an open window, and stuck her metal arm outside. Using the other to flick a switch, the contraption gave a small jerk. Suzy focused on it for a minute, and then-

**BANG!!!** A bullet shot out from the palm of her hand, striking the water below. The bat's eyes widened, her over-sensitive ears ringing from the explosion. Flicking the switch back off, Suzy jumped down from her spot at the window, beaming proudly.

"I have a gun in my hand Alcy!"

"…Just…lovely." It definitely hadn't been her choice to get her a gun in the first place, but her and Rozik had both agreed she needed to learn how to use a weapon for self-defense. Unfortunately, she had made the horrible mistake of letting Rozik steal it for her, so he hadn't time to argue over her choice before having to run out of the shop. Despite all she had taught him, Rozik was not cut out for thieving.

"I heard a gunshot! Like, what's wrong? Did a soldier find us?!?" Orea burst into the room, with Seema behind her, and the sound of footsteps signifying that the others were on their way.

"Just Suzy trying out the gun in her arm. Though she could have given us a warning…" The bat gave a soft glare at the child, who put on a guilty face.

"Sowwy Alcy…" At this point, Rozik stumbled into the room, with Darem behind him.

"Did we miss anything?" The former asked. "I was actually having a nap, you know." The bat ended up explaining to the new arrivals what happened, while Orea examined the ragtag group.

"It looks like everyone's here except for, like, Gary," she noted. A sleepy hand waved from the doorway.

"Nah, I'm here." The echidna was rubbing sand out of his off-colored eyes.

Orea nodded, clapping her hands together. "Alright then, I suppose we should, like, have a quick team meeting to, like, figure out what to do now." She nodded. "In Brom's absence, I shall take over his place as leader, okay?"

"But you're the youngest!" Rozik complained. "Excluding Suzy and Gary, but they don't count in this."

"That may be true, but I'm, like, the smartest one here." The hedgehog shut up at this statement. "Now, like, does anyone have any suggestions?" There was an awkward silence between the group. After a while, Gary raised his hand again, suddenly awake.

"Yes Gary?"

The echidna looked around before saying anything. "While I was asleep, I had this dream. Well, I'm not sure it was a dream, because I felt awake, and I was talking to this orb thing that sounded like this person I've heard before, but I don't know where. I think he's from Seraph Island, and-" Seeing the rather impatient looks he was getting from some (coughRozikcough), he decided to wrap things up.

"I decided that I am going to find the seven Maelstrom Crystals," he explained, "and…I need you guys to help me find them."


	15. A Journey Decided

**Chapter 14: A Journey Decided**

"I decided that I am going to find the seven Maelstrom Crystals, and…I need you guys to help me find them." The room was enveloped in silence as Gary said this, each of them surprised by his sudden seriousness.

"So, like, let me get this straight," Orea said. "You had this, like, dream with someone from Seraph Island in it, and he, like, convinced you to find these crystals?" Gary nodded in excitement.

"Exactly! I think his name is Father or something, I'm not sure. Anyway, he told me that I need to return to Seraph Island, because the Lord Maelstrom Crystal is shattered. But the only way to do that is to find the remaining six crystals, and-"

"Hold up," Rozik interrupted. "Aren't there supposed to be seven crystals, not six?" The echidna thought about this a few seconds.

"…I think so, but he only mentioned six…maybe something happened to the seventh one?" He shrugged, and then, he remembered the vision he had during the events earlier that night, when he had gotten the Daim Gem to Rozik. "I think the seventh one is shattered like the Lord! And Mercy, he…"

"No need to get so excited buddy; you'll wear yourself out." Al'catraz put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Calm down a bit, and tell us exactly what happened, alright? Start at the beginning.

And so, Gary did. He went as far into his visions as he could remember, going into detail if one of the others asked. Though the young echidna wasn't the best of story tellers, he managed to explain everything.

"From what it, like, seems," Orea deducted, "you are the son of the current guardian of the Lord Maelstrom Crystal. And if I'm, like, right, then Mercy used to be on Seraph Island, as well as the other 'artificial' echidnas that, like Prixtal created. And somehow, he got off, and some of those crystals were, like, shattered."

"Yep!" the echidna exclaimed. "So, will you guys help me? Please?" The other hunters didn't seem to know what to make of this request. After a few minutes of muttering, the first agreement piped up.

"I'll, like, go," Orea decided. "Someone has to make sure you, like, don't get captured again. If Brom was willing to risk himself, then like, I will too."

"What the hell; count me in!" Al'catraz exclaimed. Rozik glared at his 'older sister,' not sure what to make of this.

"Al, you and Suzy should just go home. I'll take care of things, alright?"

"Oh no you don't!" The bat grabbed his shirt by the collar, bringing them face to face with each other. "Do you know how boring it is, just stealing stuff and keeping an eye out for soldiers while you go off bounty hunting? It sucks! Besides, if we do go home, Prixtal will find us. No doubt they want to finish up whatever they were doing to Suzy, now don't they?"

The snowy hedgehog didn't quite know what to say to this. Instead, he grumbled, "Well if they're going, I might as well go too." He shrugged, looking at Gary. "The ol' boss did say we were partners, after all. Guess I'd probably be getting forced into this even if Al didn't want to go."

"I'll be coming too," Darem added. "Not like I be having any other say in the matter. Besides, there be no problem with having a boat, aye?"

"Then we have, like, everyone!" Orea exclaimed. The rabbit then noticed one last person.

"…I decided that I would like to come," Seema explained. "If you wouldn't mind having me?" The others seemed skeptical about this, except for Gary.

"Well, the more the merrier, right?" The echidna cheered. "Sure you can come!"

"Hold up one sec," Orea argued. "If no one, like, remembers, she's the one that landed us in prison in the first place! What if she, like, decides to turn us in again?"

"Again, I apologize for my previous actions," The mantis forced herself to tear her eyes from the floor, glancing at the others. "While I know it may be hard for you to accept me after that, I swear on my name that I will not betray you like that again."

"And what if your name isn't really Seema?" Rozik asked. Receiving a glare from the assassin, he snickered. "I was kidding! Geez, don't get so wound up." He turned to the others. "While I'm not sure about this either…well, I think we could give her another chance."

"You're the last person I would, like, expect to say that."

"'Specially the way ye were cursing while we be in that cell."

The white hedgehog shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll gladly take her head if she does try something like that again. So Gary, where are we going first? You're the Guardian's kid, after all."

The echidna opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it. Dubiously glancing around the room, he finally replied, "…I dunno. Actually, I have no idea where any of the crystals would be. Father didn't say either…hey, maybe Prixtal would know, since they're after the crystals too!"

"You might just be right about that…"

-----------------------------------------

Saying that Orea and Seema weren't on the best of terms at the moment was a bit of an understatement. The rabbit-girl was actually probably the angriest at Seema in the group. It wasn't too hard to believe either; Brom probably wouldn't have been captured if they hadn't been sent to prison. Sure, there were other factors, but Orea needed someone to place the blame on.

Despite the current tensions, however, the two ladies had to work together on this one. With Gary's suggestion about Prixtal having the locations of the crystals, Orea was hacking into their computers, and Seema was providing information when required. Seeing as she already knew the majority of the codes, it cut down work considerably.

"From what it says here," The mantis explained, violet eyes glued to the screen, "That they already have three of the crystals. They've also picked up the signals for the other three in the Myros, Sivlet, and Kuna regions. What a coincidence; I'm from Kuna as well."

"And as far as I, like, have heard, Rozik, Al'catraz, and Suzy are all from the Myros region." Orea scrolled down the page slowly. "Judging from this, I think we should try hitting Sivlet first; it's closest. Then we can hit Kuna, which is next, and then Myros. We can hit any of the three holding places on the way." She lightly drummed her fingers on the desk. "Say, does it, like, have any information on where Mercy teleported to? Or where…you know."

"No, it doesn't," Seema replied. "I'm not entirely sure Mercy would trust to tell anyone about the location, just in case."

The rabbit girl nodded skeptically. How was she to tell if the former spy wasn't lying? Data like this was only accessible once; any other time, it would recognize the intruder, and bar entry. Maybe there was something…

"Tell me the truth. Is there or is there not, like, any information at all?"

"No there isn't Orea. I checked." She sighed. "Even temporarily, no one likes to lose their leader, or a parent. If I had found any information, I would let you know. Trust me." Seema sighed, running one of her scythe-like hands through her hair. "I just hope everything turns out for the best. Now, there's no more relevant information here, so if you'd excuse me…" Orea didn't notice her absence for a few minutes, but didn't really care either way.

"…Sadly, hoping doesn't, like, do much. Only knowing what to do, and like, doing it. And according to this, we're headed to Sivlet." The rabbit scrolled the page back up and began re-reading it, just in case…

-----------------------------------------

"Al, I already told you: You aren't coming!" In Rozik's room on the ship, the argument between the aforementioned hedgehog and Al'catraz had sprung up once again, much to the bat's annoyance.

"And why can't we?" She asked. "As I said, our house isn't much safer. And if I come, then Suzy has to come too so someone can watch over her. I mean, someone's got to make sure she doesn't accidentally blow a hole in somebody's face."

Rozik growled. "I guess so…but still. If you have to come, you have to stay behind and watch the vehicle."

"No…if you remember, I'm the one who got us all out of that dinky little cell in Prixtal! What if it happens again? You are so stupid sometimes Rozik, saying I have to be left behind…" She paused, a smile coming on her face. "Oh, I see how it is."

"What are you talking about?" Rozik asked. As a reply, the bat pulled his head close, giving him a light noogie on the forehead.

"You're trying to be the brave, strong brother, aren't you? Defending your sisters so they don't get hurt…so sweet, it makes me want to puke." She let him go, nearly laughing at his furious expression.

"It's not like that!"

"So if something happened to us, you wouldn't care?"

"That's exactly why I was telling you not to come, so that…" Realizing he had lost, he punched the wall. With his hands being bandaged like they were, he immediately regretted it, making Al'catraz laugh more.

"I think I win Rozzy. But you don't need to worry yourself about us. I am the one who taught you how to fight in the first place, remember. If it wasn't for me, you'd have the fighting skills of a basket full of declawed baby kittens wearing fluffy pink bows."

"Screw you."

"See? And as I was saying, I can certainly handle my own fighting, and Suzy, well…" She pointed over to the little girl, who was currently entertaining herself with a map she found that had strayed out of the bridge.

"I know you don't want to admit it Rozik, but that sister of yours is deadly. She has a gun, she knows how to shoot, and frankly, she doesn't care. Scary, if you think about it."

Watching his little sister, the snowy hedgehog sighed. "…Fine, you can come. But if anything happens, don't say I didn't warn you."  
"I will, just to aggravate you." The gothic bat turned around, ready to leave the room. "…Kidding. As long as you don't say I didn't warn you either, that is."

-----------------------------------------

Elsewhere, a certain gray wolf clutched a dagger tight in his hand, looking down at the figure below. The blood red fur on the standard white hospital bed reminded him grimly of fresh blood on snow; both of them were cold, unfeeling, and didn't belong together.

"Will Lash be okay?" Kecht asked, turning to his master. Mercy nodded.

"The Living Metal shall cover anything that cannot heal on its own," he explained, "and thereby making her stronger than before the injury. Of course, I cannot say anything about the side effects…it differs between people." Almost in answer, the chains that formed his right arm writhed around like snakes, curling themselves around a nearby pole.

"Kecht understands sir." Almost pure red, bloodshot eyes gazed at something in the back room. "And him?"

At the question, a cold smile formed itself on the leader's face. "The Arkenic is performing up to expectations. Our newest project should be ready soon…I think that he will respond best to you." At this, the wolf stared in astonishment.

"To Kecht, sir?"

"Yes. You were a member of his group at one point, correct?"

"…Yes Kecht was."

"Good. While a subject tainted with Arkenic will follow most commanding orders, ones from people they know work best."

"Kecht understands sir," came the reply again, "and he will not fail you. Not this time." A hollow laugh was the reply, and Mercy was gone, as if he hadn't been there. Alone, Kecht felt a chill climb up his spine. However, a look down at the blood-red wolverine put a quick end to it.

"Kecht will impress you, Lash. If Lash wants to kill the hunters…then Kecht shall slaughter every last one of them. Every. Single. One." The dagger in his hand met with a steel bar, resounding with a loud clank. The beastly commander's eyes flickered, and shut again. Meanwhile, in the next room, a pair of deep gray eyes stared ahead of him, devoid of anything at all…


	16. Gunslinger

**Chapter 15: Gunslinger**

Like any little kid, Suzy knew that when it was dark outside, you were supposed to be asleep. That was common sense, even in Blackthorn City. This fact didn't really help much, however, since she was having a rather hard time falling back asleep at the moment.

The Hunters had been traveling for the past week or so, mainly riding in the APAV after sneaking out of the city. They were currently out in the middle of nowhere, presumably on the outskirts of the Sivlet region. Everyone was currently positioned somewhere around a small campfire that now consisted of only a few embers. Suzy noted that her brother was the farthest from the fire, but he never had liked the stuff. She never knew why, though.

Staring up at the sky, Suzy was amazed at the occurrence. The sky above was not pitch black, but instead resembled a large ebony blanket full of many little holes, like the one covering Suzy's bed back "home." Somewhere above a nearby hill was a large crescent shape, shining a pale light over everything in sight.

"Alcy," Suzy whispered, nudging the bat beside her. "Alcy, the sky's bweaking! Thewe's holes in the sky Alcy!" Grudgingly, the violet bat opened an eye, which shone a light blue.

"They're called stars, kiddo," she explained, yawning as she said so. "Damn, it's been years since I've seen 'em. But yeah, you can see them when there aren't any clouds in the way."

"The holes awe staws?"

"Stars, yes. And that large one over there; that's the moon. It changes shape all the time, so sometimes it isn't even there, and other times it's like a giant round ball. Like that rubber one you found once, remember?"

"Yes, yes I do! I liked that ball."

"Uh huh, it looks like someone bounced a large ball in the sky, and it got stuck."

"Why'd it do that?"

"I don't know! It isn't really a ball; it just looks like one." Both of them stared up at the sky for a moment. Al'catraz eventually spoke again, "I remember Laura- you and Rozik's mother- saying that the stars and moon were like watchers. They would watch over us during the night, so when it was dark, we wouldn't be sad and lonely." Suzy seemed to think about this a second.

"Then why don't we have staws back home Alcy? Don't they like us?"

The bat sighed; waking up and explaining things to certain little girls was not a favorite pastime of hers. "I'll explain in the morning, alright? Now go back to sleep."

-----------------------------------------

The little hedgehog girl did fall back asleep, but ended up waking up soon afterward. This time, a deep rumbling sound reached her ears, waking her up. Rubbing the sand from her eyes, she looked at the others in the group. Rozik looked asleep, as did Seema and Darem. Orea was mumbling something as she dozed, and Gary was snoring rather loudly as a trail of drool cascaded to the ground. Lastly, Al'catraz was beside Suzy, and was fast asleep again. The rumbling continued, and it was then that Suzy noticed a bright orange glow from the hill that the moon had guarded hours before. Deciding that the noise came from there, the little girl stood up, and walked over there, every now and then glancing back at the others.

Reaching the top, she looked down at the source of the noise; a small group of heavily muscular, tattooed coyotes, one of which held a glowing orange lantern. Four figures, one female, three males, all investigating four giant wooden crates. More precisely, the contents inside of the crates. Suzy recognized them as smugglers, which were rather common back home.

"It's a big haul tonight," One of them said. "Look at all this sh-t Revlo snagged! And you say there's a fifth case of this?"

"Indeed," replied a second one, the female. "Interesting thing is, there was an unmarked gem inside, but Revlo kept it for himself."  
"F-ck that; Revlo never keeps anything for himself. He barely keeps spare change, even. Why the hell this gem? What's so special about it?"

"I'm not sure…all I remember was the color; this light turquoise thing. And the way the moonlight hit it…damn pretty, I can say that much." The group continued talking like this, as Suzy listened, even though she didn't understand. Turquoise gem? Something clicked in the back of her mind; wasn't that what Rozik and his friends were looking for, a bunch of crystals? Maybe this was one of them. Suzy smiled to herself, because that meant helping out her brother. She liked doing that; it put him in a better mood, and that was always nice.

"Hey man, there's some scrawny thing over there…" The four coyotes turned to Suzy, staring at her first in confusion, and then began to sneer.

"Oh, it's just some kid," The original speaker barked. "Hey kid, what are you doing around here? Lose your mommy? Bwahahaha!" The group began laughing at this. The gray hedge-child didn't notice, and instead walked closer to them.

"Did you say pwetty tuwquoise gem?" She asked obliviously.

Still laughing, the bearer of the lantern answered. "Yes, we did say 'pwetty tuwquoise gem.' What's it to you; gonna' play dress up with it, kid?" The laughter turned into howls, and Suzy didn't understand why. It was just a gem.

"Please give me the pwetty gem," She replied. "I weally, weally need it."

"And I bet your dolly does too, kid. You ain't get that gem- or any of our loot- over our f-cking dead bodies." The howling got louder, but for Suzy, the sounds faded away.

Over their dead bodies. Well, that was simple enough. To a six-year old mind like hers, that simply meant that if the coyotes were dead, the crystal was hers. She had also heard both Rozik and Al'catraz use the f word, which in her mind, meant really bad. So, those coyotes had to be really dead? That was easy. Grabbing her metal arm by the shoulder with her free one, she flicked a small switch near the joint, and smiled. Game time.

"Okay then," Suzy called out, "Weady or not, hewe I come!" Whipping out her arm at unnatural speed, she fired a bullet at the first coyote's head. He was halfway to the ground before the impact fully set in, and as the last noise of the gunshot faded away, his body was a gory mess on the ground. The female shrieked, having bits of her comrade's brain on her shirt, when she fell down next to him. Like a domino, the third one hit the ground mere seconds later, leaving the lamp bearer.

"Holy sh-t! Oh my f-cking holy sh-t!!!" The only reason Suzy hadn't shot him yet was simple; his lantern was in the way. She began striding closer for a better shot, grimacing as her pink tennis shoes accidentally stepped in a seeping crimson pool. Blood was pretty, but it was hard to clean off. Smelled bad too.

The coyote, a light green creature of wiry frame and tattooed limbs, shook behind his quivering orange light. "God, I met the Devil's Child. Oh god, please don't kill me. I swear, I'll never do another f-cking wrong again, I swear. Oh god…"

"Whewe's the pwetty gem then?"

"Where's the…look kid, it ain't f-cking here. Someone else, Revlo…he has it." Suzy thought about this for a minute.

"Will you take me to him please?" She asked sweetly. The coyote raised an eyebrow, nervously laughing.

"Ha, funny sh-t kid. Revlo is a maniacally good shot. You wouldn't be able to shoot the guy in five seconds without getting fifty holes in your fcking noggin."

"But I wouldn't shoot in five seconds."

"Exactly. Now, how about you go on home-"

"I need that gem. Now." It isn't often that a grown man (or coyote) is being stared down by a six year old with a metal arm who, apparently, doesn't care if he died right in front of her, so long as she didn't die as well. To tell the truth, he didn't like it one bit.

"F-fine," he replied, unconsciously holding the lantern closer to his trembling frame. "Alright…just take the Devil's little girl to Revlo, and I'll be good. God, I'll be fcking good…" He continued mumbling like this as he started walking away, making sure the little hedgehog was behind him. The pair walked into the night, with a small orange light softly glowing like a miniature star…

-----------------------------------------

Off in the distance, a fifth coyote glanced up at the stars. Silvery eyes switched between the lights faster than a jackrabbit, as if he was trying to see every single one in less than a minute. Large, powerful hands rested over the hilts of dual revolvers, modified to fire quicker than lightning. Every sound, every movement made him jerk and twitch at the imaginary foes of the night.

Blitz-Shot Revlo, he was called, for what had already been considered the fastest shot in all of Sivlet. But he still lacked perfection, yes he had. Now…now, he was certainly the greatest. The fastest. A lightning bolt couldn't out-shoot him; he'd fire before it even made contact with the ground. And it was all because of the cold stone that lay in his pocket.

It was diamond-shaped, small and delicate. Glowing a faint cyan color, it reminded him almost of the color of the sky over the ocean on a nice day. It seemed to emanate a chill, but at the same time, his body was heated and burning. Everything seemed to move fast, so naturally, he moved faster. Never in his life had anything given him such power, such speed…he could shoot down any opposition before ever seeing the whites of their eyes. It was intoxicating, that kind of control. A control he never before possessed…yet in a way, he wasn't in control now. Not that he cared, mind you.

Slowly, far too slowly for his tastes, an orange light began to shine over the horizon. It surely wasn't dawn yet, for the sun had only set about six hours ago. Two silhouettes were the only thing blocking the light, and as he saw them, Revlo already had his revolvers in-hand, safety thrown off. However, he remembered that one of his fellow smugglers held a lantern; it was just him. And one of the other coyotes, yes…the female, she was the smaller one. Revlo blinked, he didn't remember her being that small, but it didn't make much difference. Still…last time she had come, not only had she taken the first four of the crates, but had also wanted the one with the gem. HIS gem.

Lifting the guns to eye-level, he prepared to fire…

-----------------------------------------

The lamp-bearing coyote walked slowly, not wanting to see Revlo anytime soon. Even less, having to deal with this girl. The little hedgehog walked alongside him, acting…happy. She was even humming! She had just killed three people, and she was humming?!? What was wrong with this kid?

"So…you feeling good kid?"

"Yes I am." A pause. "Why do you ask Mistew?"

The coyote paused before answering. "You just murdered three people. Doesn't that make you feel…anything?"

"No. My shoes are wet, but that's it."

"That's not what I meant! Don't you feel sad? Regretful? Anything?"

Suzy looked up at him, a puzzled look on her face. "Why should I? Evewyone dies someday. And the bad people awe supposed to die soonew. Alcy told me that. And my bwothew kills bad people too!" The little girl gazed up at the moon. "I want to be like my big bwothew one day. Except I'd be a giwl!"

Her comrade stared, wide-eyed and blank. She wanted to kill people? She felt nothing at all?!? God, what a twisted child. It sent chills down his very spine…

**BANG!** Out of nowhere, a bullet zinged past their heads. It was then the lamp bearer realized that they were closer to Revlo than he thought…close enough for him to shoot at them, and most likely, kill them.

"Is that Wevlo?" Suzy asked. The coyote nodded slowly. "Thank you Mistew Coyote! I'll deal with this fwom here!" The little girl turned toward the sniping gunsman, and surprisingly, ran straight towards him.

"Good God," the coyote thought, "the Devil sent his child for Revlo…"

-----------------------------------------

Back at the camp, Rozik was shaken from his sleep. None of the others were up, he noticed, so why did he awaken? Looking around, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Sure, there were some gunshots nearby, but that was common for this region. Lying back down, the snowy hunter shut his eyes…which snapped back open as soon as he realized what was wrong.

Suzy was missing.


	17. Turquoise Lightning

**Chapter 16: Turquoise Lightning**

There weren't many things that could make anyone wake up in the middle of the night. One of the exceptions was the sound of a certain white hunter freaking out. In the matter of a few minutes, the rest of the group had been awakened just by the sound of his vehement screaming as he darted around.

"What's the matter Rozik?" Gary asked, the first of the group to wake up.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!? I'll tell you what's wrong Gary: Suzy's gone off and disappeared!" The echidna turned, noticing that the hedge-girl's spot was unoccupied. It was at this point that Al'catraz started freaking out as well.

"Gone? Well, where the hell did she go?"

"How the hell should I know? You were the one supposed to be watching her!"

"Watching, my arse! I was asleep, stupid! Besides, you were on watch at the moment, so you were supposed to make sure nothing bad happened!"

"No one woke me up! And she was next to you! Is it so hard to listen out for her?"

"So now you're blaming me?"

"Yeah, I'm-"

"QUIET!!!" Orea shouted, temporarily shutting the two up. "Calm down you guys, and like, be sensible for a minute. She couldn't have, like, been gone long."

"How exactly do you know, 'boss'?" Rozik asked, not at all thrilled. "And what if she was kidnapped or something? Huh? Ever think of THAT?!?"

"She couldn't have been kidnapped," Seema explained calmly. "If she was woken up, she would have shot them in an instant, and we would have heard a struggle. If someone came while we were all asleep, they would have tried to steal from us before taking her. On that note, the only people around here are smugglers and thugs, and most of them are cowards."

Al'catraz nodded, feeling a bit better at this. "Yeah, you do have a point. It's just like Suzy to walk off anyway. But where did she…" At this point, another round of gunshots was heard, and everyone figured out the answer.

-----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Suzy was not in the best of moods. It seemed that this person would be harder to kill than she expected. Every time the little girl shot at him, he managed to shoot it back down, causing a miniature explosion as he tried shooting her. The only way to stop the bullets was to shoot those back down as well, and soon the battlefield was littered in shrapnel. He was an even better shot than her! It was by pure luck that the one bullet that had hit her only went through part of her quills, which she couldn't really feel in the first place.

"Pwease stop Mistew," Suzy ordered, trying to shoot away a bullet aimed for her face. "I just want the pwetty gem, so if you give me the gem, I won't huwt you."

Revlo twitched, foam oozing from his mouth as he spoke. "No way I'll let you have this crystal, kid. It's mine."

"But I weally, weally need it!" Suzy pleaded, running around to make herself a harder target. "Please Mistew Wevlo, let me have the pwetty gem!"

The brutish coyote continued his assault, jerking at every single movement she made. There was no way in hell he'd let this crystal go, this newfound power. Once that brat ran out of bullets, he'd move in and strike her dead. Blitz-Shot Revlo never left a challenger alive.

Then his mind caught up; this kid _wasn't_ running out of ammo. She had already fired a hell of a lot, and didn't seem concerned at all. Either she hadn't learned to keep an eye on her ammo, or…no, it couldn't be. But it was. He could see the faint glow of an energy core in her arm, something most guns didn't have. Revlo's did, though, and for one important reason: it supplied unlimited ammo. It had been incredibly expensive to make, even with some "persuasive threats," yet this kid had one just like his. And energy cores were rare, so how come this kid had one? It made no sense, no sense at all…but that didn't matter anymore. Fancy gadgetry couldn't halt death, just postpone it.

-----------------------------------------

"Suzy was here." The gang had found three coyote bodies strewn across the ground, a light trail of bloody sneaker tracks imprinted in the grass. Four crates were left half-opened and untouched. The moon glowed overhead, illuminating the scene with an eerie white light, like a horror film.

"My god…like, Suzy did this?!?" Orea asked, appalled. "But she's, like, a little kid! What is she, six?" The others were silent, and Gary looked personally as if he'd hurl any minute.

Rozik's eyes were glued to the carnage, his face pale and blank. His little sister never had understood what it meant to die, or the sorrow of losing someone close. Whenever she saw a dead person on the street, she never cried. No one they knew that passed on concerned her; she just thought she wouldn't see them again, and that was it. It was like a fact of life for her, and Rozik wondered that, if he or Al'catraz ever died, if she would even shed a tear.

"Come on guys…let's keep going. Suzy's not too far off." And so the haunted group continued into the night, the bloody mess behind them glistening in the moonlight…

-----------------------------------------

**Bang! Ba-bang!** The constant sound of gunshots echoed into the night, the only witness being the lamp-bearer on the hill. He was trembling on the spot, not wanting to be there a moment longer with Revlo and "the Devil Child." With his tail admittedly between his legs, he began slowly creeping backwards, allowing his light to waver.

"Where do you thing you're going?" The lad suddenly found Revlo lifting him off the ground, a pistol to the lamp-bearer's head. The lantern fell out of his frightened hands, crashing to the ground and setting the grass alight. Blitz-Shot Revlo snuffed it out with his foot, not needing a flame underfoot for his task.

"See this little girl?" He called to Suzy, holding the coyote up for her to see. "Lie down and die now, girl, or I'll kill 'im. He's a friend or yours, ain't he?"

"He led me up hewe," Suzy admitted. Revlo nodded, while his hostage shook in horror.

"Revlo, I'm your friend too! Please god, don't kill me Revlo!" The desperate lad eyed the girl who would decide his fate. "You won't let him kill me, right? You f-cking won't let him kill me!"

She thought about this, putting her whole six year old mind into it. Kill the man and get the turquoise gem, or die…she saw the sparkle in Revlo's pocket, and the very sight chose the answer.

"I'll take the pwetty gem please." The two coyotes looked surprised, and the hostage turned pale.

"Stupid choice girl, stupid choice…" As a natural instinct, Revlo faced his next kill, wondering if he should shoot the guy, or simply snap his neck. It was a hard decision, mind you, but by the way he was screaming, maybe it'd be best to shoot him in the mouth…

"Mistew Wevlo, the man snatched the pwetty gem!!!" As a natural bodily reaction, the head snapped from Suzy, to the pocket, and then to the hostage, all before Revlo's mind could catch up. And it only took that much distraction for Suzy to lift her right arm, fire, and land a bullet in his head. He did notice the gun- the gem's power made him faster than lightning- but by the time he realized what it was, it was less than an inch from his head.

Suzy had to admit, it was a pretty gruesome blow. It didn't really help that the lampless lamp-bearer was howling bloody murder, scrambling to get out of the death grip he was held in. The hedge-girl watched, waiting for the body to hit the ground and the blood to seep slower, only approaching once the target was out of the way.

"Y…you saved me," The coyote stammered. "That was a pretty damn good distraction. Thank you, thank you, thank-"

"The pwetty gem. Now." The girl put her hand out, expecting her prize to be delivered that very second.

"What?"

"I saw you. You weached in his pocket and gwabbed the gem while he was stawing. Now, give me the pwetty gem." He stared at her a minute, slack jawed while he slowly let go of the crystal. It was dead cold, reminding him of ice as it slipped into his twisted savior's hand.

Finally, the gem was hers.

-----------------------------------------

Rozik had run ahead of the group, being the most worried about his sister. Reaching the top of the hill, his black eyes dilated as he watched a giant coyote fall, and Suzy's cybernetic arm aimed in front of her. No words could escape his mouth for a few minutes, unnaturally dry at the sight. He knew that his sister was capable of killing, true, but there was a fine line between hearing about it and seeing it first-hand. The bodies had been like a warning, and now here was the real thing.

"Suzy." The first call slipped passed his mouth, unnoticed by his sister. He watched as a coyote, a shivering beast that had almost been shot alongside the other body, handed her a shimmering cyan crystal.

"Suzy!" Two things happened at this point. One, is that the girl began to speed up. She glanced at every star of blade of glass, her weapon arm anxiously prepared to fire. Second, she noticed the snowy hunter, and her face lit up.

"Wozik, look! I got the pwetty gem Wozik, I got the pwetty gem!" She was talking much faster than usual as she ran up to him, leaving the coyote behind her. She grasped her brother about the legs when she reached him (since that was as high as she could reach), quickly letting go as she showed him her prize. There was a trace of crimson running down the gem's side, highlighted an eerie light blue.

"Good job Suzy…good job." The words sounded hollow, he knew. But there was no way he could yell at her now; he had just found her, for god's sake! Besides, the way she was twitching and fidgeting was just…off.

"Rozik, did you find her?" He heard the question, but almost as soon as they were said, Suzy had already fired off three bullets in the direction of the noise. It took them both a moment to realize that she had shot at the other hunters, one of her shots having actually hit Orea in the leg. The rabbit's shriek of pain brought on another bullet, which would have hit her head-on had she not ducked down.

"So-sowwy!" Suzy apologized rapidly, "but you scawed me! Sowwy!" The little girl was starting to foam at the mouth, but that went unnoticed. Orea was now on her knees, gripping her leg while trying to see how bad it was. The bullet hadn't gone too far, thankfully, but was still stuck in her leg. Half of the group was concerned now with the rabbit, and the others with her attacker.

"Dammit Suzy, what's wrong with you?" Rozik asked, enraged.

"I…she scawed me! I'm sowwy Wozik, I-" There was a noise from the coyote below, which was silenced by another shot. Before the blow had even finished, the girl's attention was already elsewhere. No, this wasn't like her at all.

"Suzy, give me the gem." Surprisingly, this was from Gary. He walked past Rozik, kneeling down in front of Suzy with his palm out. "Give me the gem now."

She shook her head. "No, it's my gem. I got it fwom Mistew Wevlo. Mine." Regularly, Gary probably would have let her keep it. However, it was obvious that he was in one of those moods again where he was unusually calm. In all the confusion of the moment, it wasn't much of a surprise.

"I was the one looking for the gem in the first place, remember Suzy?" The echidna asked, hand still outstretched. "I need that gem, so hand it over here." Suzy shook her head again, but it was slower this time. Her eyes were fixated on the crystal in her grip, the small crimson trace of blood running from the cold stone to her hand.

Gary watched, and slowly continued. "Please, I need that gem. If you hold onto it for too long, it hurts people Suzy. It's dangerous…it could kill you."

"Kill? Kill me?" The little girl was suddenly alarmed. "But…but dead people go away! They don't come back! Would…would I be dead, with wed blood coming out of my head?" Her eyes widened as it finally hit her. She would be like the coyotes she shot. Like Revlo. Exactly like Revlo...would it?

"It might. Now, may I have the gem back?" The hedge-girl nodded slowly, dropping the crystal in the echidna's hands as she suddenly slowed back down. Gary didn't change with the crystal's arrival, and everyone quieted down. All eyes were on him, speculating what his reaction would be.

"The first of the seven great crystals," he whispered, the voice not his own. "Power at the cost of self-destruction…the first is Turquoise Lightning." With all eyes still on him, his face morphed back into his regular smile. "Well, that's a pretty name, isn't it?"

One crystal down, six to go.


	18. Disturbance

**Chapter 17: Disturbance**

Gary settled down on the grass, glad he could finally get some sleep. There had been a bit of commotion, but everything seemed fixed now. Suzy was back to normal, if only shaken up a bit, and Orea's leg had been bandaged. No one was sure where the lamp-bearer had run off to, but they doubted it mattered much. The information about what happened was weaseled out of Suzy, and now that they were back around the campfire, the night could finally be used for sleeping instead of tracking missing people.

Checking one last time that the gem was in his pocket, the echidna closed his eyes, almost falling asleep, when something started prodding his shoulder.

"Gary, wake up." The reply was a sleepy groan, and the boy turning over. "Gary, like, wake up already!" He did so this time, seeing Orea sitting next to him.

"Oh…morning," He mumbled. "Why aren't you asleep yet Orea? The others said that you should rest, since your leg got hurt."

"I know but, like, I couldn't sleep," she replied. "Besides, I can't rest the whole time; I'm the leader until we, like, find Brom. Anyway, something's been bothering me…" She pointed to one of the pockets on Gary's pants, where a dulled glow emitted from.

"This gem?"

"Yeah…like, how did you know the gem's name? And, like, what was it doing to Suzy?" Figured; the team genius couldn't sleep because of something she didn't know.

Gary shrugged, not exactly sure how to answer. "I guess I just…kinda' knew. It's like I heard it somewhere before…maybe on Seraph Island?" Pulling out the gem as he sat up, he gazed at the cyan stone. "As for what it did, I guess it speeds people up in a way. That's where the 'lightning' part of the name comes in." The rabbit beside him nodded.

"Like, I see…" She watched the gem as well, causing her comrade to briefly imagine another gem with the same color as her bright green eyes. After a minute or so, she said, "let me hold it."

"But what if it does something to you?"

"Don't worry; I'll be fine. If something does crop up, I'll trust you to take the gem away from me as soon as possible." This sounded reasonable, so the gem was placed in her hands. The rabbit almost immediately sped up, twitching and fidgeting rapidly.

"Like, this is absolutely astounding! It feels like there's a surplus of power and speed flowing through my body! No wonder, like, Suzy didn't want to give it up!" Her speech was extremely fast, and she had to wipe a bit of foam away at her mouth.

"Should I remove it now?" Gary asked cautiously. Orea stared longingly at the gem before nodding, letting him remove it. The change was almost instant, and she was back to regular speed. She seemed surprised, watching for if Gary sped up himself. He didn't.

"Like, incredible!" The rabbit finally exclaimed. "It seems that it speeds up the nervous system to, like, increase reaction speed and the like. But it doesn't affect you, and I don't think its effect on me was as strong as Suzy's. Fascinating." She winced a bit as she stood up, bracing a hand on her injured leg. "Well, I'd love to study it more but, like, I should probably get to sleep now. G'night Gary."

Mumbling "goodnight" as she left, the echidna curled back up, gem in his pocket. Within a few minutes, he was finally back asleep, which he stayed like the rest of the night.

-----------------------------------------

"But _why_ do people die Alcy? Why?" Suzy had been asking things about death ever since they had gotten back to the camp. The little girl was fascinated by the fact that the dead didn't ever come back, and to tell the truth, Al'catraz was getting tired of it.

"Because either their bodies wear out, or someone kills them," she explained for the umpteenth time.

"But WHY?!?"

"Because," said Rozik, standing beside them, "if people didn't die, there'd be too many people around, and we'd all be stuck here. Seriously, there wouldn't be enough room to stand." He put his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky. "That, and if people didn't die, then we'd have way too many people making way too many mistakes, now wouldn't we?"

Suzy thought about for a minute. "Yes we would."

"And when people die, they can't make stupid mistakes anymore, can they?"

"…Can they?"

"Nope." Suzy seemed to accept this, and was soon enough ushered off to bed. Al'catraz and Rozik met up a few minutes later, the latter still watching the sky.

"Didn't know you could explain it so well Roz," The bat said calmly.

"Yeah, well with our luck, she'll get it in her head that anyone who makes too many mistakes should die…then again, a world without klutzes doesn't sound too bad."

Al laughed dryly, lying down next to him. The others weren't too far off, bits of their conversations drifting over the wind.

"She scared you, didn't she?" the gothic bat asked slowly.

"Huh?"

"Suzy. When she…you know, killed those coyotes. And when she had that gem. It scared you, right?" She glanced up at the snowy hunter, who was trying to pull off a blank face. He never had been good at those, though, so his expression came off as one of unease.

"No, that didn't scare me," he replied. "What scared me was how easy she did it. I mean, she didn't even look a bit scared or upset. Just…regular Suzy. It's weird." He sighed, fingering the gem on his necklace. "I wasn't like that, was I?"

"God no. You were scared as hell Rozik, and I don't blame you." In fact, she remembered, he had almost burst into tears after arriving home from his first kill. It took him awhile to finally get used to it, and even then, he was still upset at times.

"I think the difference with Suzy is…well, she's been raised around it. She's still a little kid Rozik, and she doesn't know any better. You, on the other hand…well, you knew death was bad, and you were barely a teenager. We had barely ever been on our own, but then…you know."

"Yeah." There was a long silence between them, as the moon and stars above snuck behind the clouds. "Al, you don't think Mom made a lot of stupid mistakes, do you?"

"Of course not. Now how about we head back to the others?" Al'catraz stood back up, stretching her arms a bit before walking off. Rozik watched her silently leave. He stayed put, thinking about what his sisters had said, and soon fell asleep himself.

-----------------------------------------

Orea had meant what she said when she told Gary she was going to get some rest. Honestly. But as she limped back to her spot, thoughts continued to buzz about her head like flies; stopping one moment, then speeding away before you could fully grasp them. Even just that little taste of the gem's power had been enough to make her realize why Mercy wanted them…and how bad it would be if he got what he wanted.

So, between that and the pain in her leg, sleep didn't come easily. That, and someone was busy tinkering away with the APAV. Of course, only one person was allowed to even think about touching the vehicle besides her.

"Darem, like, what are you doing?" She asked sleepily. The dragon poked his head out from under the truck, a small oil stain on his forehead.

"Fixin' a few pipes. I'd rathe' be doing that then thinking about that bloody little child o'er there."

"Suzy?" A nod was the reply, the dragon crawling out from under the vehicle. There were various stains on his scales, and his usual jacket was tied around his waist.

"Dinna' get me wrong Orea; I like the kid. She be a nice girl. But still, she is rathe' scary, ye ken? I mean, she did shoot ye in the leg." The rabbit shrugged, although her leg did still hurt. Being shot wasn't necessarily the best feeling in the world.

"So, anyway…like, how far off is the next town?" She asked, eager for a change in subject.

"Wael…hmm…a day away, at the most.. And dinna' quote me on this…but I think there be another crystal nearby." Orea's ears perked up at this.

"A second gem? But, like, how can you tell?"

Darem shrugged, grabbing a small rag to clean his scales off. "Wael, I'm a dragon, lass. A dragon who canna' sense gems is rathe' useless, aye? And now that I have a scent to go by…even from this distance, I can tell it be close."

Orea decided not to question him about this. He probably wouldn't mention it if it was a lie, and besides, questioning a dragon's sense (this dragon, at least) was never a good thing. It usually involved fire, and lots of it. Besides, there were no complaints about another gem…unless Suzy ended up shooting someone in the head some more.

"Say, you know a bit about the crystals. Like, do any of the others have effects?"

"I neva' heard about them havin' effects in the first place, Orea. I just ken the colors; Red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet, and white. If I remember hearing correctly, the Lord Crystal is white too…or maybe silver. Kinda' like Roz's gem." The dragon paused, thinking for a minute. "Actually, the Daim Gem on his collar be smelling like the Maelstrom Crystals. Odd…I didna' ken that before."

Orea suppressed a sleepy yawn, finally feeling tired. "Maybe the Daim Gem's just smell similar?"

"No two types o' gems smell alike, ye silly lass."

"I was just asking." Another puzzling bit. Oh well, she thought as she shut her eyes, there was always time to think in the morning…

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"Psst, Gary." No reply. "Gary…Gary! Wake up, you dolt!" The echidna awoke that following morning, interrupted from his sleep again, this time from a certain white hedgehog. Gary mumbled a sleepy greeting, and shut his eyes again.

_Thwack!_

_"_Ouch! I'm awake, I'm awake!" Gary bolted upright, nearly hitting his partner in the forehead. "What's up?"

"A plan, that's what." The snowy hunter loomed over the sleepy echidna with an amused expression. "I decided at the next town, that I'm going to get a drink to celebrate our find. Of course, I'm out of money. You know how we're going to get that money, right?"

Gary thought on this for a minute. "Get a part time job as waiters?"

_Thwack!_

"No, you idiot! We're bounty hunters, remember! Now, what do bounty hunters do?"

"…Hunt bounties?" Gary asked, rubbing his head.

"There we go!" Rozik smirked, grabbing one of his clawed gauntlets. "As soon as we get to the next town, you and I are going to sneak off and do some quick-and-easy hunting. Much better than hanging out with the girls and Scaly, isn't it?"

The young boy nodded. "Yeah, a mission! It sounds like fun!"

"Good. Maybe afterwards, I can show you what a good beer tastes like." Rozik was already anticipating his drink, having been sober for the past few days. He waved goodbye to Gary, and turned to walk off…bumping right into Seema.

"And where did you think you were going?" The mantis asked. "I heard something about bounty hunting…?"

"Uhmm…Gary and I were just saying that we haven't hunted anyone recently, that's all." A sucky lie, and both of them knew it.

"I see…well, I imagine that finding those crystals is far more important at the moment than chasing people for money. Unless someone wanted has a crystal, you are not going to stray from the group." Rozik bit back a retort, since pretty much everyone in the group probably agreed with this. Probably because they knew what he would do after he got the money, but hey, he would be the one to earn it. Besides, he practically deserved to have a drink, after what had happened recently. Maybe even two drinks…

"Do you understand me Rozik?"

"Yeah…" Seeming at least partially satisfied by this, the mantis walked off.

Of course, just because he understood, that didn't mean he would necessarily listen…


	19. The Price of Separation

**Chapter 18: The Price of Seperation**

The next town was called Abelis, which was on the outskirts of a desert. The ground was dry and dusty, with any plants that weren't adapted thirsting and shriveled. Almost as dry as a bone, but at least it had supplies…and bounties.

"But Rozik, didn't they tell us to stock up on stuff?" Gary asked, trying to keep up with the snowy hunter's steps. "They'll notice if we're gone too long!"

"Then it'll be a quick and easy bounty," Rozik replied. "Besides, you're forgetting that I'm a top-notch hunter. I can fight anyone, you dolt." With a sly smile, he added, "or do you not trust your partner?"

"Of course I trust you!" Gary replied eagerly, wiping away some sweat on his forehead. "But can we fight in the shade, please? It's hot out here." Hotter than he had ever been. Unless he had forgotten that too, the boy supposed, but he was certain that if he had, he'd remember to not come back.

"Good. Ah, here are some victims…" Grabbing a flyer tacked to a nearby wall, the hedgehog read aloud, "Black Sting, a group of thieves wanted for burglary, assault, and suspected homicide." Yes, it wasn't pretty. But the price was well enough, and to Rozik, it looked like a piece of cake. Gary, however, stared at the paper with a blank expression.

"What's homicide?" He asked.

"Murder, kid. It means they've killed people, and…" at this point, he noticed another flyer nearby –with their faces on it. Each of them had a different price, and a different requirement for capture. Gary himself was wanted alive, and had the highest price (the equivalent of nearly one million dollars). Suzy and Seema, it seemed, were also wanted alive. Rozik, however, was posted firmly as "Dead," and oddly enough, so was Darem. Al'catraz and Orea were both listed as D.O.A's, which was still pretty bad. Lovely. The snowy hunter snatched this flyer off as well, crumpling it into bits, and then ripping it into pieces. A breeze running through the town picked up the bits of paper, scattering them like little snowflakes across the ground.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to get out of here…" he mumbled. At this, Gary felt an odd tugging sensation in his chest. For some reason, he didn't want to let this mission go…

"No Roz, we've gotta' do this!" he exclaimed. "I just…I think it's something we've got to do." With a pause, he added, "Unless you don't trust me."

The white hunter smirked. "That was my line, stupid. However…I guess I trust you. Besides, we could probably take down more of these flyers anyway." With that, the two hunters began their trek once again through the town, bounty in hand.

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The others already knew that Rozik and Gary probably wouldn't get their end of the shopping done, for various reasons. So, the others had gone off to a nearby market, stocking up on supplies. Since neither the echidna nor his hedgie partner were there, the gang's suspicions proved right.

"Are you sure you should be walking around with your leg like that?" Al'catraz asked Orea, who was currently inspecting some fruit.

"Like, it's a lot better than yesterday," she replied. "I'll be fine, okay? Now, hmm…like, oh my god, look at this!" A flyer similar to the one Rozik had found was tacked nearby, with all seven of their faces on it.

"You have got to be kidding me," Al groaned, looking closer. "And look at these prices! Hmm…you and I are fine dead or alive, it seems. Suzy's alive…whatever could they want her for? So are Gary and Seema…" Glancing around, it became apparent that the mantis was no where in sight. "Huh, wonder where she went off to. Anyway, as I was saying, Rozik and Darem are both on the kill list. That's odd too."

"Ooh, look Alcy!" Suzy exclaimed, hopping up to see the paper. "They've got pwetty pictuwes of us on the papew! Is that giwl on the side me? Do I look like that Alcy?"

"Sure do kiddo," the bat sighed, tearing the picture in half, and then half a few more times. The flyer was now torn in long, thin strips, which were casually tossed behind her, and stomped on for good measure.

"So like, now our missions is even more dangerous that before…" Orea murmured, watching as the paper was stepped on by some street rats running off with a small bag. Now it wasn't just finding the Maelstrom Crystals and Brom, but now they had to be even more cautious. Could things get any worse?

As if to answer her mental question, there was a loud crash. Glancing back, they were greeted by the sight of overturned stalls, a few burnt products, and an incredibly ticked off dragon charging at full speed. It was by pure luck that Al'catraz grabbed his tail, bringing him to a sudden halt.

"What's the big deal?" The gothic bat practically screamed in his ear. "We're already wanted out here, and then you make a scene? What are you, suicidal?"

"Lemme' go ye wench!" Darem shouted. "Those thieves be gettin' away with me gems! See? See?!?" While there were usually four garnets on his outfit (one on a choker, one hair tie, and a pair of earrings), and a few more in his pockets, they were now missing. That must have been what was in the street rats had in the bag, seeing as he was hollering at them as they scurried out of sight.

"Like, you can get your gems back later," Orea, noticing another flyer, ripped it off and shoved it in his face. "We now, like, have bounties on our heads! We need to find Seema, Rozik, and Gary pronto! And didn't you, like, tell me there was a gem nearby?"

The dragon stared at the paper for a bit with his good eye, fuming so badly that smoke was actually starting to seep from his nostrils. "Yeah, MY gems be nearby, and I need tae be catching those dirty thieves before they get away with 'em! Now if you'll be excusing me-" At this point, he wrenched himself from the girl's grasp, and began running after the thieves like a man possessed. The left behind trio exchanged glances.

"…So, like, now what?" Orea asked.

Al'catraz snickered in amusement. "And you're the leader? Well girl, since those were thieves, I would imagine that they have something worthwhile there…so I'm going after them." With a moment's thought, she added, "If you really can't figure out something to do, keep an eye on Suzy for me, would'ya? I think I've found me something interesting to do know."

The bat strode off, much more casual than the previous hunter, following the thieves' trail. Orea and Suzy watched, also exchanging glances. Well, now everyone was split up, and just when everyone was on a bounty list too. This, Orea decided, was a test of her leadership skills. And the first thing to do?

"Like, I think we should look for the others. Come on Suzy."

"Okay Owea!" The little hedgehog began skipping away, rabbit trailing behind her. The people in the marketplace, who had been watching in perplexity, began crawling from their hiding places. It wasn't often that such a commotion shook the town, that's for sure…

-----------------------------------------

Seema knew that Rozik and Gary were up to something. Seriously, who could actually trust those two once they got an idea stuck in their heads? She skimmed through the alleyways in silence, noticing the wanted signs as well. And out of the corner of her eye, something else. Not sure if her eyes were deceiving her, she landed, backtracking to the spot.

She could only see their backs, but it was enough to reveal at least one of their identities. The first one was a gray wolf with shaggy fur, and a trench coat full of daggers.

"The crystal is here," the wolf explained calmly, though his raspy voice was laced with excitement. "Mercy says it is called Voracity's Bloodstone. Mercy wants the bloodstone…and you will not let Kecht down, correct?"

The other figure- something large and black, with some kind of weapon strapped to his back- nodded in reply. There was something in his form that was stoic, almost robotic. The mantis mentally groaned; Arkenic. The creature was someone devoid of all emotion from the stuff…which was probably a lot, considering the looming being's size. She turned to leave, since conflict would not help here, when she noticed something that chilled her bones.

The weapon strapped to the creature's back…was a Warhammer.

-----------------------------------------

After questioning a few innocent bystanders (and tearing down posters on the way), Rozik and Gary figured out the whereabouts of Black Sting. It was in the south part of town, which was claimed as their territory. It most places, it would be known as the slums of town. Gary thought it looked a lot like the Blackthorn Housing District where Rozik and his siblings lived, but decided not to voice this opinion.

As they got there, however, the air began to fill with smoke, and the scent of burning bodies reached their noses. The echidna grimaced, remembering the last time he had smelled this, and covered the lower half of his face to block out the fumes. The snowy hunter beside him didn't seem much better, and what was that expression on his face? It couldn't possibly be fear, could it? Gary wasn't sure, since he hadn't really seen that expression on his partner before. It didn't suit him.

"It burns! Make yourselves scarce! Grab the goods and run!!!" A young cat, who was probably with Black Sting, tore his way past, until suddenly hurtling to the ground. Rozik (who had tripped him), walked over to the boy, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"Hey kid…what's going on here?" He asked casually. The kitten whimpered at being held of the ground, wriggling a bit in his grasp. "Answer me!"

"I…I don't know!" Came the kid's reply. "One of the older members came with some red gems he stole, and went to add it to the bigger gem we found, when suddenly, this…_thing_ comes hurtling in, and breathes fire everywhere and shouting at us. So we scattered…and then some bat comes in, and knocks some of our members out. They got our leader too, and…and…" The young thief began to sob at this point. Clearly agitated by this news, the snowy hunter tossed the boy to the ground. The boy was gone almost immediately, while Gary went over what was said.

"Was he talking about Darem and Al'catraz?"

"Probably was…and Seema was worried about us causing problems?" He shrugged, walking back. "No use hanging around here, then."

"But don't we still need to capture those guys?" Gary was confused; usually Rozik would be charging head-on into something like this.

"Yeah…we'll just wait until the fire's died out, and then bring 'em in. Going in now would be stupid…I personally don't want my fur singed again."

"…Again?" At this, he thought that he saw his partner stiffen, a shade paler than before.

"Er…I, uh, got some fur burnt off by Darem once, that's all," the hedgehog replied quickly, as if nervous about something. "Stop worrying, and let's get out arses to a place where it isn't smoking so much, alright?" The echidna nodded grudgingly, though something about the whole conversation was bugging him…no need to worry about that now, though.

-----------------------------------------

Saying that Darem was in a bad mood was an understatement, as was saying that it was dangerous to be within ten feet of the guy. Now, saying that he was pissed beyond belief, and that the whole town should probably have run off until he calmed down…that hit the mark quite nicely.

So far, he had set most of the thieves on fire (not extremely, but enough to do some damage), socked countless in the jaw, and even more were sent packing. He hadn't killed anyone (at least, he didn't think so), but that was probably next on the list.

"Ye' there!" he shouted, grabbing a random criminal out of the bunch, "Where did ye' hide me gemstones?"

"I don't know! Honestly!" The criminal was then thrown at a few of its comrades, sending the group falling to the ground. That was what had happened to most people so far, now that he thought about it. Stubborn lot.

Someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to automatically twist around to see who it was. Al'catraz was watching him with a grin, chuckling.

"Still haven't found them yet 'Scaly'?"

"Nay, not yet," he replied grudgingly, half prepared to light her on fire for using that dreaded nickname. "And why d'ye care?"

The bat shrugged. "I don't really like all this smoke in my eyes. Besides, couldn't you just go find the things yourself?" She sighed. "You boys are so stupid sometimes…I don't know why I bother." Walking off before he could protest, she ignored the multitudes of thieves still scurrying away. The bat remembered being in their shoes before, so why make it any worse?

After a few minutes, a glisten caught her eyes. Bingo! Nothing could escape from a girl like her, she decided. As she got closer, she saw the dragon's beloved treasure…and something else. It was the largest gem of the bunch, and a color that reminded her of the blood she had seen so often, especially two nights ago.

Oddest part was, it felt like the gem was…calling her?

Without even thinking, she reached out, grasping the gem in her hand. Almost instantly, a rush of energy and power shot through her veins. God, this was strong! Was it one of those Maelstrom Crystals, like the one Suzy found? That thing was freaking scary, watching the kid that was like a sister to her bug out like that…

But Al'catraz found that she didn't care. Who cared? Suzy was a kid, so of course she couldn't handle power like this. Better keep it safe with someone who could properly keep it, like herself. And on that note, she could probably use this power somehow as well. Well, there _were_ a bunch of thieves running around who would probably love to steal this gem back. And since it was found amongst his stuff, Darem would probably think the crystal to be his, too. Not to mention Gary wanting it…what the hell could that oblivious kid do with it, anyway? He'd probably kill someone with it on accident! No, it was much, much better if she kept it…

…First, though, she had to get rid of these people. Everyone would have to go. If they ganged up on her, they might have a chance! No, she decided, not with this kind of power. Nothing could beat her now.

Voracity's Bloodstone was clenched tighter to the bat's palm, pulsating energy. Finally, it had a worthy host…


	20. Lured by a Promise of Blood

**Chapter 19: Lured by a Promise of Blood**

Voracity's Bloodstone was close; Kecht could practically smell it. The trail of carnage, marked by bloodied and battered bodies, made it evident as well. People under the Bloodstone's influence weren't very tolerant of anyone, so he was told.

Kecht grinned; this would be fun. A glimmer of red, a color deeper than his own psychotic eyes, caught his attention. That bat girl ahead…she had it. In fact, she had just finished fighting another hunter! What luck! Up ahead, Kecht's target sneered at her victim, and then flew off to find others.

"That's the target," Kecht rasped. "You and Kecht must catch her and the stone. The stone must not be shattered." The black beast beside him made no reply, but that was expected.

Continuing on his way, the wolf cast a glance at the hunter on the ground. "Fake little weakling," Kecht muttered, before continuing on. He'd come back for the body later, and kill it. But the crystal was more important. Far more. And the bat was getting away…

"Brom," The black beast turned its head toward its leader, gray eyes completely blank. It sent a shiver down the charcoal-furred killer's side, seeing the powerful hunter under _his_ command. At the same time, it was also exhilarating. _"Kecht now controls his old leader. Ironic, isn't it? But don't worry Brom; Kecht shall command you well. Lash shall be so very pleased when Kecht brings in the gem __**and **__the dead hunter's heads, oh yes she will."_

"Brom," He continued, "That bat, see her? Attack, and grab the gem. If necessary, kill her." With complete obedience, the ox grabbed the Warhammer off his back, charging forward in an instant. Kecht watched, the grin on his face reminiscent of a maniacal madman.

_"So very pleased…"_

-----------------------------------------

Gary felt like something inside his chest was tugging at something, back where the Black Sting was running from. It was a feeling he couldn't describe well, for it didn't exactly hurt, but…it was rather strange.

"We need to go back there," he exclaimed. Rozik glanced back at him, one eyebrow raised in question.

"What's the rush? There isn't anything-"

"Yes there is!" Gary tugged at the snowy hunter's sleeve. "I know there is, I can feel it! Come on Rozik!" The hedgehog's gaze swapped between his partner, and back at where the smoke was coming from. Partner, smoke. Partner, smoke…

"Nah," he replied finally. "You can go on ahead, but I'm staying right here…just in case someone comes this way." As was obvious, this was really odd behavior, especially when the expression on his face was still set on 'borderline freaked out.'

Usually, Gary wouldn't mind a request like this, but he felt stubborn at the moment. He now had a hold on Rozik's wrist, pulling the hedgehog with him a few steps. "Not now! Since we're wanted, it'd be better to stick together, so they can't beat us! Besides, you wanted to go get a bounty in the first place, right? Right?" With a strong pull, the boy began to drag his partner toward the smoke.

"Fine, you idiotic bastard," Rozik snatched his hand away, "I can walk myself. Let's make this quick." As they went, it was apparent that there weren't many more thieves running about. Considering how many there were earlier, and how many there were supposed to be, this didn't seem to fit. And why had the smoke died down?

Glancing down, the duo found a few bodies crumpled on the ground. The dusty city floor was stained scarlet, and there was quite a bit of debris too. Some makeshift shelters were smoking and black, though it seemed the fires didn't have enough to feed them, and had burned out.

The main plaza didn't seem much better, but something did catch their eyes. First, bloodied footprints…boot prints, to be precise. They were in various parts, most notably in front of Darem. The dragon was slumped over against a wall, a few trickles of blood collecting in a pool below. A quick check of his pulse proved him not to be dead, and he began to cough on contact. Not unconscious either, it seemed.

"Dammit," Rozik muttered. "What the hell happened to you? Those petty little thieves gang up on you?"

The dragon shook his head, coughing out a bit more smoke. "I'd be a fool, in that case. Nay…for some re'son, Al'catraz decided tae take a few blows to me. And I saw a gem in her hand, ye ken? It be red …like this blood." He tried to stand up at this point, stumbling and almost collapsing again.

Gary and Rozik exchanged glances. "Do you think it was one of those Maelstrom Crystals?" The latter asked.

"It has to be!" Gary replied. "That's why I wanted to do this mission so bad…there was a crystal here!" The echidna turned back to Darem. "We need to go after Al. Which was did she go?"

"Just follow the prints…if that be failing, just find a fight…she be there, I bet."

"Thanks. Will you be okay if you stay here?"

He nodded. "O course. I'll be good as new, once me breath comes back."

"Okay then. We'll come for you in a bit. Rozik, come on." The boy turned, breaking out into a run. Rozik watched, noticing that the serious side of his partner had emerged again. He glanced back at Darem.

"Was she bad…Al'catraz?" The pirate laughed at this, and began coughing again.

"Damn. Yeah, she be nasty…she wasna' herself at all." As an after thought, he added, "be careful."

"Not like I have much choice in the matter." The snowy hunter then ran after Gary, making sure to keep his gaze away from the dying flames.

-----------------------------------------

_Wham!_ The Warhammer struck the earth, its target having flown out of the way. Al'catraz laughed cockily, aiming a kick for the bull's head. It hit, but didn't even leave a scratch.

_Wham!_ The hammer was thrust upward, ramming into the bat. Her grip on the gem tightened, blood beginning to seep from her side. But that was a lucky shot, of course. No way that she could be beaten, she mentally muttered. She had power…

Nearby, Kecht watched from the shadows. Watching his former boss fight like this –at his command, no less- filled him with an inexplicable glee. Sadism, maybe? Who knew? No one really did…

Out of the corner of his red-rimmed eyes, the wolf caught a flicker of green. A thief? No, they had all run off. He sniffed the air, tinged with the scent of blood…and smelled something. A traitor.

_"Found you."_ Another flash of green, and the manic wolf threw one of his prized daggers at the source. No shriek…good. Either a challenge, or he had already killed the perpetrator. Behind him, the bull and bat were locked in full combat, and didn't look like they'd end anytime soon…so why shouldn't he have a little fun?

Following his nose toward the source, Kecht spotted his prey on the ground. It was that mantis girl, Seema, who had betrayed the hunters and then Mercy. A traitor indeed. The knife had grazed her left wing, but she kept silent, regarding the wolf through clear violet eyes. Her expression was calm and stone cold, like she was taught to be. Kecht smirked, another dagger finding itself in his grasp as he stepped forward.

"Silly little mantis cannot decide what side she is on, can she? Will she help the hunters, or help kill them? Like a little bug caught in a web…" Even when the knife was suddenly pressed against her throat, the assassin remarkably kept her cool. Still, a trained fighter like him could practically smell the fear underlying the mask. It was a trait one picked up, with enough time.

Still, this would be fun. "Allow Kecht the pleasure of playing the spider."

Instead of making a witty comeback, the mantis simply leaned back, so that the knife that would have slit her throat missed. In one fluid motion, she was hovering over the ground, and gone the next instant. A faint hum of beating wings alerted the wolf of her presence behind him, and he rolled out of the way as a saw-like hand thrust out. Six daggers were pulled out, three in each of their master's hand. No one could use as many blades as efficiently as he could, of that he was certain.

Since she was a spy, he knew, her skills in full-on physical combat were probably underdeveloped. All he needed to was knock her to the ground, and slash away. Not too simple, but enough to make things fun.

He rolled with the punches for a few attacks, waiting in silence as she seemed to disappear, feigning ignorance as he smelled her scent around him, heading in from above right. Dive-bomb. As she was about to make impact, he simply stepped aside, bringing his blades skyward…

…A sudden downpour of blood spilled, a few drops landing on his charcoal gray fur.

A light body collided with the ground.

The predator grinned. Oh, how he loved playing the spider…

-----------------------------------------

Gary remembered the one time he fought alongside Al'catraz, when Lash had ambushed him. He knew she was strong, but really, he had never seen her full street-fighting potential. Well, here was his chance.

Knowing that she had this much power, especially from the crystal, wasn't surprising.

Seeing her fighting Brom…that was.

Why was the bull fighting her? Was she so heavily under the bloodstone's control, that he had no choice but to try and stop her? It couldn't be; those strikes looked like they were meant to kill. Those wounds on the bat weren't light ones either. Wouldn't he have tried to refrain from damaging her too much, or did he forget who she was?

No matter; he had to stop this, and stop it now. Behind him, Rozik was gripping his gauntlets tight, though he looked reluctant to fight either of them.

"I'll take Al," Gary explained calmly. "It'd be useless to stop her if you accidentally got the gem instead. Try and get Brom to stop attacking her, if you please."

"I guess that works. Don't get yourself killed kid; you haven't been at this as long as we have." The snowy hunter ran forward, ramming into the bull to throw off his balance, halting a blow that was about to crush the bat's leg. Gary waited for a few minutes, trying to find an opening. The gothic bat was attacking not with speed, but power. Her attacks were slower than normal, but aimed at all the right places to maim and destroy. She seemed to have already done damage to one of Brom's shoulders, which was smart; if either of his arms were too damaged, it'd be impossible to use his Warhammer.

Of course, that meant she took more time to prepare her attacks, for maximum strength. The echidna saw her leg draw back, and he made his move.

"Maelstrom Lance!" The words came naturally, and a flash of bright light burst from his hands, striking the bat's leg. As she noticed him, stunned and ticked, he tackled her to the ground. One hand went to hers to grab the gem, and then the punk kicked him in the stomach. He felt the air rush out of him, and he was thrown to the ground again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rozik and Brom fighting, white on black. He didn't bother thinking on it too long.

He could feel energy. Not in a psychotic way, but more like a feeling, revitalizing him, rushing through him…

Turquoise Lighting. It had to be the first gem. He didn't feel their adverse effects, but he still had their power…and right now, he knew how to use it.

"Chaos Control!" For a moment, Al'catraz had no idea where her foe went, and she just stopped in confusion. Her question was answered, however, once his spiked fist was rammed into her back, right between the wings. She hit the ground on all fours, but managed to do a sweep kick as the echidna landed, tripping him. She seized the opportunity, pouncing and attacking until he disappeared again. This time, she anticipated him trying to attack her in the back.

_Craaack!_ Her swing kick collided with his chest, and he tumbled on top of her. She lost her balance, and they both fell down…suddenly, the power drained out of her.

Voracity's Bloodstone hit the ground, but didn't break. It just sat there, gleaming like a disowned droplet of blood. But not for long.

-----------------------------------------

Orea ran through the streets, half leading, half dragging Suzy with her. The rabbit didn't notice her limp, instead trying to reach the APAV. Doubtless the streets would have thieves everywhere.

"Smart of you to leave now girl," A merchant remarked as she passed. "You know what those Black Sting members will do, what with all this damage to their group."

"No, like, I don't. Now excuse me-"

"It's simple," The merchant continued, running alongside them. "They've been in control of the town for awhile. We never said so, but we all acknowledge it. And they're a bunch of suicidal kamikazes…they'd rather die than be shamed like this. Especially with those kooks in their territory-"

"What'll they do?" Suzy asked earnestly. "Awe they going to shoot people?"

The man let out a loud, nervous bark. "You wish kid! You see, they've set up trigger-bombs thoughout the whole south part of town, and they've sent their surviving members to set them off!"

Orea's eyes widened. Trigger bombs. Oh god, she knew those. After someone activated one, they all were set to a count of ten minutes. And then…mass explosions.

The others were in the south district. She knew it.

And, unless she got there in ten minutes, they'd all be dead.


	21. Echoing Despair

Chapter 20: Voracity's Bloodstone

**Chapter 20: Echoing Despair**

"Kecht wins." The wolf loomed over his wounded victim, a psychotic grin plastered on his face. Animal instincts that had never fully died were rising, bringing a desire to rip the body apart into pieces, to ravage it to a carcass stained red. But he didn't; that would take too long. He knew there were trigger bombs around the district, so it was more important to seize the Maelstrom Crystal.

"Does the traitor have any last words?" He continued, stepping on Seema's wrist. "Or would she rather die in silence?" No reply; she simply stared up at him, her wound seeping. It was on the left side of her chest; he suspected that it had come close to the heart. "Silence it is." The lupine pulled out a black-hilted dagger; it was his pride and joy, his favorite child. It was used solely for killing; no one who had ever witnessed the blade ever lived once it touched their flesh.

All it took was one simple strike to the-

Seema suddenly convulsed under him, rolling out as he brought the blade down. The sudden movement startled him, and he faltered in his swing. Before he could rise back up, what felt like thousands of sharp needles pierced into his neck, and brought him crashing to the floor.

"It is not a good idea to overestimate the damage your attacks deal," The mantis chided coolly. "I would think that you, of all people, would know that."

"But how…?" Something warm trickled down his neck, and he felt numb. That was unusual…poison? Had the mantis coated her pincers with poison?

Seema pointed to the wound in her chest. "Would you believe that this hurts far less than it looks? I simply bleed more before things clot, but that doesn't take long. Useful for seeming weak, isn't it?" She turned away, ripping one of her sleeves and tying it into a makeshift bandage around her midsection.

Kecht growled. "That doesn't matter! Doesn't the traitor know that everything's going to blow up soon?"

Seema raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is it? I see." With a smirk, she began to walk away. "Well then, I better not waste time to kill you here. I'll just let you bleed for the next few minutes. Better pray that someone cares enough to get you out, sir."

As she left, the wolf envisioned all the many ways he could kill her, and what he would do if they met again. But everything was going dark…

--

Al'catraz had no idea why her head was spinning so much, or why she felt like she had bathed in blood. Everything hurt, especially her sides and back. The last thing she remembered was grabbing that strange red gem…

"Are you back to normal now?" The bat glanced up at Gary, who had that same red gem in his grasp.

"I…I think so." She shook her head, and got to her knees. "What happened?"

"You were overtaken by Voracity's Bloodstone, and went on a rampage." The echidna's tone was serious and cold; the polar opposite of what she knew him to be.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rozik and Brom. Both were slashing and hammering away with their weapons, though the bull seemed to have the upper hand at the moment. Mostly, it was because he was fighting without mercy, while Rozik obviously did not want to be fighting his former leader.

"Lovely," Al spat. "Now, we just need to stop those two from trying to kill each other, and we can get out. Anything else I need to know?"

Gary didn't say anything, and his face was blank. Al'catraz blinked, and suddenly, he was gone in a flash of light. A sudden shout of surprise caught her attention, and she was just in time to see the echidna appear behind Brom and deliver a knuckle hammer to the bull's head. Using this opportunity, Rozik cut in, slicing the already wounded shoulder, causing Brom to lose grip of his Warhammer. The weapon slipped out of control, crashing to the ground before Brom picked it up again, swinging it at Gary. The echidna hit the wall, caught himself, and shot a Maelstrom Lance before springing back in.

Eyes glued to the scene, Al'catraz stood up warily. It was quite a fight, to be certain. They seemed evenly matched now. Still…

A sudden gunshot, along with the sound of a roaring engine, stole her attention. It was the APAV, with Suzy firing from the passenger window. Darem and Seema were trying to keep the little gunner from falling out, while Orea was driving.

"It's about time!" Rozik shouted, blocking Brom mid-swing. "We've got a situation here!"

"Like, we sure do!" Orea shouted back. "We've got only four minutes until the trigger bombs go off!" It was then that she noticed who Rozik and Gary were fighting; her eyes widened in horror. "Brom?!"

Gary gave a cold glance back. "There's no reason to continue this fight." Hopping back, he grabbed Rozik by the collar, and dragged the hedgehog to the truck, with Al'catraz close behind.

Brom didn't say anything, but he didn't seem to agree, either. The bull charged forward, striking the APAV with the Warhammer, and leaving a nasty dent in the hood. This was rewarded by a bullet to the arm by Suzy, who was immediately pulled back in by the others.

"Why is he attacking us?" Orea shouted.

"We don't know!" Rozik shouted back. "Just get us out of here!" The vehicle kicked into gear, swerving around and away. The hunters were either watching the road ahead, or watching their old leader chasing behind them.

"Orea, you've got to drive faster," Gary ordered. "There's only three minutes left."

"But Brom's back there!" The rabbit shouted. "Like, we can't just leave him to explode!"

"He's the enemy now, Orea!"

"No!" The car was losing speed, and wavering dangerously close to some of the buildings. Civilians were running and screaming everywhere, trampling those too damaged to get away.

"Dammit, we'rena going fast enough!" Darem growled. "That's it; I'm driving." The dragon pushed his way into the front, grabbing the wheel from Orea, and hitting the gas with his tail. The APAV sped up considerably, pedestrians clambering out of the way to avoid being run over.

"That bull is still chasing us!" Suzy exclaimed, poking her head out of the window again. "Should I shoot him?

"No Suzy!" Rozik pulled his sister back in, shaking his head. "We're not trying to kill him right now."

"In all likely events, he'll be caught in the explosion," Gary said coldly. "I doubt that he's fast enough to run out."

"We can't let that happen!" Orea shouted. "Darem, give me the wheel back! We've got to save Brom!"

"And let him smash our wee heads in?" The dragon shook his head, prying the rabbit's hands off. "Or would ye prefer tae go back tae blow ye'self intae smithereens?"

"One and a half minutes," Seema remarked, attempting to retie her bandage. "I don't think we're going to make it, at this rate."

At this point, Gary gripped both of the Maelstrom Crystals tightly. He could feel their power surging through him; he could do something about this. It would be a complete and utter waste to die here. He let the energies flow from him to the APAV and those in it, and muttered two simple words.

"Chaos Control."

Everything was enveloped in a bright green flash of light, and for a brief second, the hunters thought that the trigger bombs had gone off early. The glow soon faded, revealing a dusty road. They were now about a mile from Abelis, which could be seen on the horizon. Gary, who had been sitting in the back, swooned and collapsed in exhaustion, having never tried to transport anything larger than himself before.

The car was unusually silent as the bombs exploded, and the town was enveloped in flames. Orea stared in disbelief and shock, at the thought of her adopted father amongst the dead. Rozik purposefully averted his eyes, and instead focused on the floor. Suzy watched in fascination, as if she were watching fireworks, while Al'catraz sighed and shook her head. Darem wiped some sweat from his brow, and Seema found herself wondering whether Kecht had died before or after the blast; she had used some pretty strong poison, having suspected that she'd end up in a fight.

For almost an hour, the only sound was the car's engine as the hunters drove away. They weren't even sure where they were headed; any place was better than the ruined Abelis.

--

The group had set up camp a ways away, and it was getting dark now. Orea had left in order to decide where they would head next, or so she claimed. Really, pretty much everyone knew that she wanted simply to be alone; it was hard to lose someone close, especially after leaving them to die so soon after finding out that they were still alive.

Gary watched from a distance, seeing her sitting under a nearby tree. It made him feel bad; this whole thing felt like his fault. He had to do something!

"I'm going to go check on Orea," he said to the others. "I'll be back in a minute." The sparse grass scrunched under his feet as he made his way over, pausing once he was behind the sulking rabbit. Her ears were drooped so low that the tips made contact with the sand and roots on the ground.

"Go away," she muttered. "You're, like, the last person I want to talk to at the moment."

Gary shrugged, and sat down next to her. The rabbit wasn't crying, at least not yet; that was a good sign.

"Feeling any better?" He asked. The answer he received was a glare.

"I just lost him again, Gary. What do you, like, think?" There was no need to ask who she meant.

"…I'm sorry," The echidna muttered. "I didn't know…I mean…well…" he paused. "It's weird to keep losing him like this."

"Weird?" Orea's tone picked up, sounding more infuriated than depressed. "You think it's…weird? Gary, he's dead! Like, do you hear me? Dead, dead, dead!" She stood up, eyes like lightning striking into his soul. "You're like Suzy, aren't you? You don't get it! That explosion killed him, Gary! He's gone now, gone forever! It's not like he's been captured…he's…dead."

She leaned against the tree; it seemed as if the only other choice was falling down. "See, it might, like, be a good thing. He was under the control of Arkenic, as you guys said, and he was under Prixtal's orders and everything. If it was almost anyone else, I would, like, be handling this so much better. But…" The rabbit wiped something from her eye. "Brom was like my father. Scratch that; he IS my father. My first memory was after I was separated from my parents, and all alone…he was there, and he saved me. He's raised me ever since I was, like, a toddler…and now…"

"He isn't dead." There was no immediate reaction to this statement, so Gary continued. "Orea, while we were leaving…I felt another flash of energy besides my own. It was Chaos energy –or maybe Maelstrom energy- I'm sure of it. But it was only there briefly, like a flash…or teleportation."

Orea stared at him, her face as blank as a soldier on Arkenic. "You think…?"

"I think they were transported out," The guardian nodded. "It might have even been Mercy; I think he has powers like I do. I just…I just know that Brom's still not dead. Not yet."

There was no worded reply to this. Without having to say why, Orea sunk to her knees and leaned against Gary, tears dripping from her drenched emerald eyes. She wasn't even sure if she was crying because she was happy that her adopted father was alive…or the pain of knowing that they would most definitely fight again, and someone would not come out alive.

--

Al'catraz yawned loudly, leaning against the APAV. She had just put Suzy to bed, despite the kid's protests about not being sleepy. It had been a long day, and even if no one else agreed, she was tired enough to fall asleep standing up.

The bat's ears perked up, hearing scuffling noises from the trunk. Moseying around to the back, she noticed Darem sorting a few various objects into a small knapsack, and smoking a half-burnt cigarette as he did so.

"Going somewhere?" She asked conversationally, refraining from laughter as he jumped in surprise.

"Al! Dinna sneak up on me like that!" He growled. "If ye must know, I be leaving this crazy group. Soon as we hit the next town, I be stealing a car, driving back tae Blackthorn, grabbing me boat, and getting back tae work. Treasure and dragons tae find, not death threats."

The bat rolled her eyes, leaning against the truck. "Uh huh, sure. Who's going to let you leave?"

"Me." The dragon shrugged, eyeing a ruby that had fallen out of his luggage. "I've left these kooks before, and I be damned if I canna do it again. Imna' in a mood for dying, in case ye couldna tell."

"Sounds more like cowardice to me."

"Imna a coward!" A bit of smoke seeped out of his nostrils, and it wasn't because of the cigarettes. "I'm just not foolish enough tae stay around, and let meself be killed."

Al'catraz pretended like she didn't hear this. "You know what Suzy told me yesterday?"

"Dinna change the subject."

"I'm not. Do you know what she told me?"

"…Nay."

"She said," Al said nostalgically, "that she saw all of us as family. Not just Rozik and I, but Gary, Orea, Seema, you…in a way, I think we are a family. We're stuck in this together, at least."

"So what's ye point?" The dragon asked impatiently. "That I'm a crazed lassie's cousin?"

Resisting the urge to slap him across the face, Al'catraz finished. "Not that. Ever heard the term 'Family comes first?' We're like a family. You can't just leave, Darem. Not without upsetting everyone. 'Sides, we've all got death threats on our heads, so you'll have people trying to kill you anyway." Now she slapped him, and then turned away, walking off. "Just thought you might want to consider that."

Darem put a hand to his now-stinging cheek, dumbstruck.

"Family comes first…"

--

"Aren't you lucky?" Rozik glanced up, seeing Seema sitting next to him.

"Oh yeah, so lucky. I have luck practically oozing off of me."

"I was being sarcastic."

"Me too."

Seema sighed. "I just mean…of both the crystals so far, they've been with your sisters. Which, really, is pretty unlucky, but…" She paused. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry this is happening."

"Don't be. Not like it's your fault." Rozik shrugged, fingering a piece of grass as it crumpled in his hands. "I am kinda' lucky…it's just bad luck. With the way things are going, you'll get the next crystal."

Seema raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

The snowy hunter bit his tongue before answering. "Well…Gary's immune to the crystal's effects. Darem could throw himself off a cliff for all I care, and Orea…I wouldn't be especially heartbroken. You, however…well, I guess I'm responsible for you still being here. So if something happened to you, it'd be my fault."

The mantis gave a snicker of amusement. "You sure have a way with your words, Rozik."

"I try." He stretched, sighing. "Damn, I need a drink. Why couldn't the town wait to explode until after I got my beer?"

"Because you'd be stumbling through the explosion if you did." This got a laugh out of both of them. "Really, though…I think I am next."

"To stumble through an explosion?"

"No! To get a crystal…" The mantis grinned morbidly. "If I know Orea and Gary, they'll decide that Brom's still alive, and still under Arkenic influence. Then, Orea will remember that one of the crystals is at an Arkenic research and production facility in Kuna."

Rozik thought about this for a moment. "Aren't you from Kuna?"

"Yes," Seema verified. "That, and my parents have studied Arkenic for the soldiers…coincidence, do you think?"

"It's still a pretty big 'if' you got here." The snowy demon yawned. "Well, whatever this crazy world decides to do, it can wait until after I wake up. If I'm still 'lucky,' it can wait until we find a nice town that doesn't go ka-boom on us, and I get a drink." Seema snickered again, and stayed there until the hedgehog had fallen asleep, and the sky was littered with the flickering scraps of stars.

--

_"You are certainly fortunate that I took the nerve to save you. Are you not?"_

_"Kecht is, sir. Kecht certainly is."_

_"Especially at the price that, if I was delayed at all, we would all be dead. You risked your master's life, Kecht."_

_"No! Kecht means, sorry, sir! Kecht will not do it again, he swears!"_

_"Good…your partner is out of the lab now. I've already assigned her a new mission. As for you…do I deserve to keep you?"_

_"…"_

_"What shall I bestow upon you?"_

_"…Mercy…"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Mercy. Give Kecht mercy."_

_"That isn't something I often do. …But maybe, I can give you another chance. You know what will happen if you fail me this time, of course?"_

_"Kecht will die. Yes, Kecht is ready for that."_

_"Good. Then you will be reassigned once the poison is flushed out of your system. Brom is still under your command; use him well."_

_"Kecht will, sir. Thank you."_


End file.
